Pueblo Weather: 80-degree Friday peak precedes 30-degree crash

80 degrees. That is the ceiling for Pueblo today, Friday, October 23, before a sharp drop in temperature begins.

The National Weather Service forecast shows the city peaking at 80 degrees with a low of 52. By Saturday, the high will fall into the 50s. That represents a 30-degree reduction in just 24 hours.

A cold front crosses Colorado today, moving from the west. It pushes additional cloud cover into the area and triggers storm activity farther south. On the southern side of Pueblo, rain chances sit between 10% and 20% for Friday. Those odds rise significantly over the weekend.

Morning temperatures in Pueblo started in the 50s. Clouds broke to allow sunshine around 10 a.m. along Interstate 25. Warmer air followed in the afternoon. The front supports thunderstorms farther east and a few storms along the southern stretch of the interstate.

The temperature shift is not limited to Pueblo. Colorado Springs is forecast to top out at 73 degrees with a low of 47. Canon City faces a high of 75 and a low of 49, with rain chances between 20% and 30%. Woodland Park will see a high of 58 and a low of 39.

In the Tri-Lakes area, Monument records a high of 69 and a low of 43. Walsenburg and Trinidad reach 73 and 74 degrees, respectively. For these southern cities, Friday is the warmest day of the next seven. Highs there will also drop into the 50s by the weekend.

The eastern plains may see thunderstorms return by Friday evening after a sunny start. Afternoon temperatures in the 70s and 80s give way to lows in the 50s. Mountain highs sit in the 60s with lows in the 30s. Flooding concerns linger in southwestern Colorado as water levels recede slowly. The preliminary Halloween outlook projects dry weather and temperatures in the 50s and 60s.