Tri-Lakes Conditions
Weather alerts, fire restrictions, wildfires, air quality, drought, rain and snow, and power outages for Monument, Palmer Lake, Woodmoor, Gleneagle and Black Forest. Each panel shows when its source was last read.
No National Weather Service alerts are in effect for the Tri-Lakes. Unincorporated El Paso County has no fire restrictions in effect. Backyard weather stations near Monument read a median 38°F as of 8:09 p.m. On I-25 near County Line Road it was 40°F at 7:45 p.m. The national wildfire feed lists no uncontained fire within 60 miles. Modeled air quality in Monument is good (AQI 36). Severe drought or worse covers 69.6 percent of El Paso County (Drought Monitor, Oct. 27). Mountain View Electric reports no outages in El Paso County.
Latest reading 8:31 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Weather alerts
No alerts
The National Weather Service has no watches, warnings or advisories in effect for Monument, Palmer Lake, Gleneagle or Black Forest.
National Weather Service · read 8:31 p.m.
Right now
- I-25 near County Line Road 40°F Calm. Observed 7:45 p.m.
- Backyard stations near Monument 38°F Median of three volunteer stations within five miles; range 37–39°F. Latest report 8:09 p.m.
The I-25 reading is CDOT’s road-weather station at milepost 162.9, 0.6 mile south of County Line Road. Backyard stations are volunteers’ instruments in the Citizen Weather Observer Program; how each is sited affects what it reads. The Air Force Academy airfield, about nine miles south-southeast of Monument, is an airport weather station and the only one of the three that describes the sky. For road conditions, closures and chain-law notices, see COtrip, run by the Colorado Department of Transportation.
National Weather Service · read 8:31 p.m.
Forecast for Monument
- Tonight
- 32°F Partly cloudy. Wind calm.
- Wednesday
- 51°F Partly sunny then rain and snow showers likely, 56% chance of precipitation. Wind SE 0 to 10 mph.
- Wednesday Night
- 28°F Rain and snow showers then mostly cloudy, 88% chance of precipitation. Wind N 5 to 10 mph.
- Thursday
- 51°F Sunny. Wind N 0 to 10 mph.
National Weather Service · read 8:31 p.m.
Air quality
36 Good
U.S. Air Quality Index. Fine particulates (PM2.5): 6.0 µg/m³.
A model estimate for Monument’s coordinates. The nearest EPA monitor is in Colorado Springs.
Open-Meteo · read 8:31 p.m.
Season so far at Palmer Lake
0.81 in.
of precipitation, rain and melted snow, since Oct. 1, against a normal of 1.40 in. for the same days (58% of normal). Snowfall since July 1: a trace. Through Nov. 2.
The Palmer Lake cooperative weather station, kept since 1899. Normals are NOAA’s 1991–2020 averages; none is published for this station’s snowfall.
NOAA Regional Climate Centers (ACIS) · read 8:31 p.m.
Drought
69.6%
of El Paso County is in severe drought or worse, on the map dated Oct. 27.
| Category | Oct. 27 | Oct. 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Abnormally dry (D0) or worse | 95.5% | 95.5% |
| Moderate drought (D1) or worse | 86.9% | 87.8% |
| Severe drought (D2) or worse | 69.6% | 78.1% |
| Extreme drought (D3) or worse | 11.2% | 43.7% |
| Exceptional drought (D4) | 0.0% | 11.2% |
Share of the county’s area. The map changed from the week before. The Drought Monitor is issued weekly.
U.S. Drought Monitor · read 8:31 p.m.
Sun and moon
- Sunrise
- 6:29 a.m.
- Sunset
- 4:56 p.m.
- Daylight
- 10 hours 27 minutes
- Moon
- Waning crescent, 29% lit. Last quarter: Nov. 1
- Tonight
- Forecast cloud cover after 9 p.m.: 7–56%
Open-Meteo and the U.S. Naval Observatory · read 8:31 p.m.
Power outages
0
without power, out of 60,071 served by Mountain View Electric in El Paso County.
Monument, Woodmoor, Gleneagle and Black Forest lie in Mountain View Electric’s territory. Palmer Lake buys its power from CORE Electric Cooperative, which publishes no live outage map; see its outage center and public safety shutoff page. Who keeps the lights on in the Tri-Lakes.
Mountain View Electric outage map · read 8:31 p.m.
Fire restrictions
No restrictions
No county fire restrictions are in effect. Normal fire-safety practices still apply.
The county’s restrictions cover unincorporated El Paso County, including Woodmoor, Gleneagle and Black Forest. The Sheriff’s Office tells residents inside town limits, such as Monument and Palmer Lake, to check their town’s rules. Fire restrictions and burn permits.
El Paso County Sheriff’s Office · read 8:31 p.m.
Wildfires nearby
None listed
No uncontained wildfire within 60 miles of Monument is listed.
From the national wildfire incident feed. Small fires handled only by a local department may not be listed. Distances are straight-line miles from Monument.
National Interagency Fire Center · read 8:31 p.m.
Morning gauge reports
Rain and snow in the 24 hours to each observer’s morning reading, Nov. 3.
| Station | Precipitation | New snow | Snow on ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Forest 3.0 NE | 0.20 in. | — | — |
| Black Forest 3.8 W | 0.48 in. | 0.2 in. | trace |
| Black Forest 3.9 NNE | 0.22 in. | 0.2 in. | 0 in. |
| Black Forest 4.7 WSW | 0.17 in. | 0.0 in. | 0 in. |
| Black Forest 6.0 WNW | 0.49 in. | — | — |
| Gleneagle 0.4 WNW | 0.41 in. | 0.0 in. | 0 in. |
| Monument 2.6 E | 0.50 in. | trace | — |
| Monument 3.2 N | 0.60 in. | — | — |
| Monument 6.6 ENE | 0.42 in. | — | — |
| Palmer Lake | 1.09 in. | 0.0 in. | 0 in. |
| Palmer Lake 1.1 SE | 1.03 in. | — | — |
Readings by volunteer observers in the CoCoRaHS network and by the Palmer Lake cooperative station. Station names give the distance and direction from the town named. A dash means not reported.
CoCoRaHS via ACIS · read 8:31 p.m.
How this page works
The page reads its sources on a schedule: weather alerts, observations, wildfires and power outages every 15 minutes; air quality every half hour; the forecast, fire restrictions and gauge reports every hour; the season totals every three hours; and sunrise, sunset and the Drought Monitor, which is issued weekly, every six hours. Each panel says when its source was last read. If a source stops answering, its panel keeps the last reading, marked as such, for a set time and then goes blank rather than show old information as current.
Air quality is a model estimate for Monument’s coordinates, not a measurement. Gauge reports come from volunteers and may arrive late or not at all. The wildfire panel lists incidents in the national feed that are within 60 miles, not fully contained and not declared out; prescribed burns are left out. Distances are straight-line miles from Monument.
This page reports what its sources say. In an emergency, follow instructions from officials and call 911. Spotted an error? Email editor@monumentindependent.com.
Sources & further reading
The Independent’s own coverage: Who Keeps the Lights On in the Tri-Lakes (which co-op serves which town) · Fire restrictions and burn permits · All trackers
Weather: National Weather Service, Pueblo office (alerts, the forecast, and observations from CDOT’s I-25 road-weather station, Citizen Weather Observer Program stations and the Air Force Academy airfield) · Open-Meteo (air quality, sunrise and sunset, cloud cover) · U.S. Naval Observatory (moon) · NOAA Regional Climate Centers’ ACIS (Palmer Lake station records and normals) · CoCoRaHS (volunteer gauge reports)
Fire and drought: El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, fire information · National Interagency Fire Center, wildland fire incident locations · U.S. Drought Monitor
Power and roads: Mountain View Electric Association outage map · CORE Electric Cooperative outage center · COtrip, Colorado Department of Transportation