742 FXUS65 KPUB 252300 AFDPUBArea Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 500 PM MDT Thu Sep 25 2025
.KEY MESSAGES...
- Warmer on Friday, with scattered showers/t-storms returning to the mountains along the Continental Divide.
- Showery weekend in the mountains, especially along the CONTDVD; mainly dry plains. Slightly cooler all areas both days.
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.SHORT TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/... Issued at 208 PM MDT Thu Sep 25 2025
Mostly clear and cool tonight with ridge overhead, and a few of the usually cool mountain valleys (Upper Rio Grande especially) will again drop to near/slightly below freezing by early Fri morning. Given widespread frost/light freeze over the San Luis Valley this morning and slightly warmer forecast min temps, won`t issue a Frost Advisory for the Valley for tonight/Fri morning, though some of the usually colder spots along the Rio Grande may get close to freezing for a brief period toward sunrise.
Upper ridge flattens and drifts east on Friday as upper wave moves across the nrn U.S. and upper level low inches eastward into AZ. As a result, mid level moisture plume and thunderstorms over UT/AZ/NV today will shift eastward into at least wrn Colorado on Friday, with a few afternoon showers/storms along the Continental Divide, best chance ern San Juans. Not expecting much rain initially with any activity as low levels remain dry, with lightning/sprinkles/gusty winds the main storm features. Despite slightly lower 300/500 mb heights, low/mid level temps actually warm a couple degf Fri, and with lee surface trough slightly deeper on the plains, better mixing should lead to warmer max temps at many locations, and a few spots from Pueblo eastward through the lower Arkansas Valley could at least approach 90f.
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.LONG TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Issued at 301 AM MDT Thu Sep 25 2025
Closed low over the southwest CONUS will continue to slowly push east and this southerly flow in advance of this system will continue to increase the moisture over the mountains. Overall best chance of rain this weekend will be over the San Juans, but chances of rain will increase over all of the higher terrain. Most widespread coverage will be on Sunday, and it will be several degrees cooler over the mountain on Sunday as compared to Saturday. There will be a chance of a few showers pushing east onto the I-25 corridor on Sunday afternoon.
Early next week, the closed low will fill and de-amplify as it moves northeast, Nonetheless, some troughieness will move over the plains and this may allow for a slightly better chance of showers over parts of the plains on this day. With moisture already in place over the mtns, scattered showers and tsra are expected. Chances of rain are expected to decrease over all of the region by midweek, with temperatures generally remaining in the 80s over the plains and 70s valleys. /Hodanish
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.AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z SATURDAY/... Issued at 500 PM MDT Thu Sep 25 2025
VFR conditions with light diurnal wind regimes remain expected at COS, PUB and ALS over the next 24 hours, with increasing high level clouds through the day on Friday, as upper level ridging builds across the state.
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.PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None.
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SHORT TERM...PETERSEN LONG TERM...HODANISH AVIATION...MW
NWS PUB Office Area Forecast Discussion