Pueblo hits record high temperature; will snow and cooler weather be in the forecast soon?

Dec. 1—The high in Pueblo on Nov. 29 was 76 degrees — a new record for that day which topped the previous mark of 74 in 2003, 1973 and 1945.

Nov. 29 also marks the latest point in fall in which Pueblo has not received measurable snowfall.

According to National Weather Service Pueblo meteorologist Klint Skelly, a high-pressure system above the western half of the United States is the main reason for the recent dry, warm temperatures during the day and colder temperatures at night.

"The dew points and the relative humidities are very low," Skelly said. "With that, you're able to fluctuate between cold nights and warm days."

In Alamosa, the high on Nov. 29 was 60 degrees. The low was 7.

The 53-degree difference is due to the dry conditions. The dry conditions, Skelly said, allow for such a sharp drop in temperature from day to night.

While La Nina is impacting weather patterns throughout North America, and in Colorado, the temperature fluctuations and warm temperatures aren't entirely unheard of this time of year.

The lack of snow, however, is a bit more unusual.

"In eastern Colorado, we're kind of used to these extremes of fluctuations of temperatures because we're so dry," Skelly said. "Is this abnormal that we're getting to the point of lack thereof snow? Yeah, it's pretty abnormal. But it isn't unheard of."

Skelly said the record high set in Pueblo on Nov. 29 is 25 degrees warmer than the average temperature for that date, which is 51 degrees.

He said that the high on Thursday is expected to set another record with the dry air still in place later in the week.

"We have that really dry air in place and there's a little bit of flow coming off the mountains that is going to help heat our air a bit more," he said.

The last update to the NWS Drought Monitor index on Nov. 24 showed Pueblo in "moderate drought conditions."

Skelly said Pueblo's drought levels are improved compared to other years and other parts of the state experiencing extreme droughts such as Baca County, the Four Corners region, northwest Colorado and the northeast plains.

"We're doing 'OK' so far, but if we don't get precipitation, (drought conditions) will continue to get worse," Skelly said.

The lack of precipitation in high elevations, however, aids to an extended fire season and could mean more red flag warnings.

"(The lack of precipitation) kind of prolongs the potential for critical fire weather conditions which are dependent on a few things like humidity values below 15% and wind speeds greater than 25 miles per hour," Skelly said.

"So with no snow, or little snow over these areas, critical fire conditions could last a bit longer over mountainous areas and whatnot."

Skelly said there was a chance for snow the first weekend of December, however, it now appears that won't be the case.

He said that while it's "abnormal" for there not to have been snow just yet, the reason for systems breaking up before hitting Pueblo isn't anything new for La Nina.

"So these low-pressure centers, which are kind of associated with snow, um, they're just kind of being forced to stay a little bit further north," Skelly said. "So places to the north — like the Pacific Northwest in British Columbia — are getting a ton of snow and rain, and there's been pretty bad flooding associated with that. And then a little bit further downstream where we're at, we've been really dry.

"And I think that it's kind of associated with La Nina."

Skelly said weather patterns in La Nina are generally unpredictable.

Dec. 8, Skelly said, may be the next chance for precipitation in Pueblo.

"Some of the data is suggesting that something comes through and gives the possibility of some rain and snow over the mountains and plains," he said.

As for the rest of fall, winter and early spring, Skelly said it was hard to say if Pueblo will get more snow or less.

"I generally fall back on what the Climate Prediction Center says and their outlook from December, January to February, their data is leaning to below-average precipitation and above normal temperatures," Skelly said. "But, La Nina is unpredictable. Sometimes it's higher (precipitation, sometimes it's lower.

"There's a wide variety of outcomes with La Nina."

Luke Lyons is the news director of The Pueblo Chieftain. He can be reached via email at LLyons@chieftain.com.