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Daily brief · Friday, September 4
Friday is the last mostly dry day before the weekend turns. The zone forecast issued 6:07 PM Thursday has partly sunny skies, a 20 percent afternoon thunderstorm chance, highs 66 to 73, southwest winds to 10; last night's issuance said 10. The grid updated 6:06 PM stays in single digits through 9 AM, peaks at 28 percent at 3 PM and models no measurable rain. The outlook issued 11:40 AM puts the heavier rain on Sunday and Labor Day.
Up high the chance is 30 percent, highs 57 to 66. Wind peaks early again: modeled gusts 25 to 27 mph on Hope, Mosquito and Elbert between 8 and 10 AM, mid teens by evening. Elbert models 29 F before dawn. Sunrise 6:36, sunset 7:31. Saturday 20 percent, Sunday 50, Labor Day 60.
Water: the Arkansas at Granite ran 54.1 to 68.4 F Thursday, the third afternoon over the 65 F trout-stress line; 66.2 at 6:45 PM. Halfmoon Creek 6.16 cfs at 60.8 F. Arkansas near Leadville 13.1 cfs, up from 10.1 Wednesday.
Roads: both passes confirmed dry at 7:15 PM Thursday. The Johnson Village bridge stays one lane through about noon Friday, then nothing is published for the weekend.
Written 2026-09-03, 7:55 PM MT.
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A daily precipitation percentage is the day's own maximum from 5 AM to midnight, not a schedule; an overnight storm crossing the date line counts toward the evening it belongs to, not the morning after. Where a day is wet enough for timing to matter, the orange line under its percentage gives the longest continuous stretch of that day whose own hourly probability reaches most of the daily figure. It is read from hourly model data and, at several days of lead time, that data arrives in multi-hour blocks, so treat the edges as guidance rather than as a start time.
Data in this page rendered 09/03/2026 20:18 MT (NOAA/NWS models via Open-Meteo, USGS gauges); your browser also refreshes these numbers live on load.
Up high
Model forecasts corrected to each elevation, conditions above treeline are usually far harsher than town. Afternoon thunderstorms are common in summer; most parties plan to be off high summits and passes by early afternoon. The storm-risk line under each peak is a modeled estimate, not an observation: it reads Open-Meteo hourly precipitation probability and CAPE at that peak's own elevation across the 11 AM to 8 PM window, and reports the window peak plus the first hour that reaches 30 percent. It is a planning input for turnaround times, not a forecast of whether a specific storm will hit you. Check the official NWS forecast and read the sky before you go.
Water · flows & temps7-day detail
| Gauge | Flow | Water temp |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas R. nr Leadville | 13.1 cfs | - |
| Halfmoon Creek | 6.16 cfs | 60.8°F |
| Arkansas R. at Granite | - | 64.9°F |
Snowpack · checked 2026-09-03
Snow water equivalent 0 in, snow depth 0 in, daily value for 2026-09-02. Station medians: first snow water Oct 12, peak 20.8 in on May 11, melt-out Jun 22. Nearest automated snow station to Leadville, on Fremont Pass north of town. Baked in at build time from USDA NRCS data.
Trails & roads · notices verified 2026-09-03
Highway status · checked 2026-09-03, 7:50 PM MT
Leadville to I-70 at Copper Mtn, MP 0 to 22.6. Surface condition operator-confirmed dry Thursday at 7:15 PM; CDOT's forecast line on the segment was refreshed at 7:30 PM. No closures or restrictions posted, and zero corridor incidents in the statewide feed at the 7:50 PM pull. · The Lake County zone forecast issued 6:07 PM Thursday has Friday partly sunny with a 20 percent afternoon thunderstorm chance and southwest winds to 10, so expect dry passes with a small chance of a wet stretch after 3 PM. Saturday carries 20 percent, Sunday 50, Labor Day 60 with showers likely; the heaviest rain is expected Sunday and Monday over the high terrain.
Minturn at I-70 south to Buena Vista, MP 143.4 to 210.8, the whole Leadville approach in one COtrip segment. Surface condition operator-confirmed dry Thursday at 7:15 PM, with CDOT's forecast line refreshed at 7:30 PM. Zero corridor incidents at the 7:50 PM pull. · Same shape as CO 91: dry Friday with a 20 percent afternoon chance, then 20 to 60 percent through the holiday weekend, wettest Sunday and Monday.
The Johnson Village bridge job at the Arkansas River, MP 213.4, runs continuously through about noon Friday Sep 4, one alternating lane with an 11 ft width limit and 15 to 20 minute delays at any hour. It is the only planned event on the corridor in the feed. The Twin Lakes to Buena Vista paving zone at MP 196 to 202 ran its last posted window Thursday and has dropped out of the feed, with nothing published for Friday, the holiday weekend or next week. An absence in the feed means CDOT has not published more, not that the work is finished. Pulled from the COtrip planned-events feed Sep 3, 7:50 PM MT.
The MP 170 to 174 resurfacing zone north of town, the Minturn zone and the Red Cliff zone all remain out of the feed. Zero active incidents on the corridor at the 7:50 PM pull; the statewide incident list held six records, none of them on US 24 or CO 91 between Minturn and Buena Vista. Pulled from the COtrip planned-events and incidents feeds Sep 3, 7:50 PM MT.
Highway data from CDOT / COtrip, state highways only. County and forest roads are covered in the notices below.
USFS order 02-12-01-26-36 was signed Aug 19 and runs from Aug 21 at 12:01 AM through Sep 30 at 11:59 PM unless rescinded. It supersedes order 02-12-01-26-33, and the affected recreation site list is not the same. Still closed: Mount Massive Wilderness, Mount Massive Trail 1487, Highline and Native Lake Trail 1489, Willow Creek Trailhead, Elbert Creek Campground, Halfmoon East and Halfmoon West Campgrounds, and Colorado Trail 1776 Segment 11 at the Mount Massive Trailhead. Newly listed compared with the previous order: Mount Massive Trail 1487 and the Colorado Trail segment. No longer listed: North Mount Elbert Trail 1484, Windsor Lake Trail 1490 and North Halfmoon Creek Trail 1485. The described area now runs south of Turquoise Lake, south of County Road 4 and NFSR 105 to Busk Creek, east of the tree line at the Busk Creek switchback, south and east along the eastern slope of Mount Massive to the wilderness boundary near the North Halfmoon Trailhead, east to the main Mount Massive Trailhead, and from there along the NORTH side of Halfmoon Creek to the east boundary of the forest. Whether the standard Mt. Elbert north route falls inside or outside the closure is set by the map exhibit attached to the order, not by the rec-site list, and Elbert Creek Campground is still closed. Call the Leadville Ranger District at 719-486-0749 before you plan on it. Order number, signature date, effective dates, described area and rec-site list were read directly from the order text on Aug 20. Re-read on the full district alert list Sep 3 at 7:52 PM, unchanged. This is now the operative closure. Both 2026 Leadville 100 races have now been run on courses rerouted around the earlier version of this closure, with Hagerman Pass Road, Sugarloaf Mountain and Powerline off both. The closure itself outlasts the race season: it runs to Sep 30 unless rescinded, so it governs autumn hiking on Mount Massive and the Halfmoon drainage, not just race week.
Official source: USFS Pike-San Isabel NF
Order 02-12-00-26-37, signed Aug 20, replaced the Stage 2 order 02-12-00-26-29 that had covered the Leadville Ranger District since Aug 2. Stage 1 took effect at 12:01 AM on Aug 21 and runs through Nov 14 at 11:59 PM unless rescinded, across the Leadville, Salida, San Carlos, Pikes Peak, South Park and South Platte districts. What actually changes: campfires are permitted again, but only in a permanent metal or concrete fire pit or grate that the Forest Service has installed and maintains at a developed recreation site, meaning campgrounds and picnic areas. Dispersed camping still means no fire of any kind, including charcoal and briquettes. A device fuelled solely by liquid or gas that can be turned on and off is allowed in an area cleared of flammable material within three feet, and a fully enclosed metal stove with a chimney at least five feet long and a quarter inch spark arrestor is allowed with ten feet cleared. Smoking is prohibited except in an enclosed vehicle or building, at a developed recreation site, or while stopped in a barren three foot circle. Explosives are prohibited and welding needs a ten foot cleared area and an extinguisher. The practical version for anyone camping here through the autumn: a fire is legal at a developed campground fire ring and nowhere else on forest land. Read directly from the order text on Aug 20. Re-read on the full district alert list Sep 3 at 7:52 PM, unchanged.
Official source: USFS Pike-San Isabel NF
The Forest Service alert list carries a Leadville Ranger District closure of Turquoise Lake Road, County Road 4, due to asphalt damage. The road is barricaded from the Abe Lee parking turnoff to Hagerman Pass. Access to Turquoise Lake is still available via County Road 9C and County Road 9 to the Hagerman Pass intersection, and the Abe Lee fishing site remains open and reachable from CR 4. The alert start date is April 7, 2026 and no end date is posted. It did not affect the three official crew locations for the 2026 Run, which were Outward Bound, Pipeline Alternate and Twin Lakes Village. With the race season over it matters most to anglers and to anyone driving the lake loop, because the through route to Hagerman Pass from the Abe Lee end is gone. It has now been closed for four and a half months with no end date posted. Re-read on the full district alert list Sep 3 at 7:52 PM, unchanged.
Official source: USFS Leadville Ranger District
USFS order 02-12-01-26-19 closes the Interlaken Hotel and Annex area on the Leadville Ranger District from June 22, 2026 at 12:01 AM through June 21, 2028 at 11:59 PM unless rescinded. Entering the described area is prohibited, for public safety in an area with known hazards from tree fall and damaged buildings. The described area is defined only by the map exhibit attached to the order, so where its boundary falls relative to the Colorado Trail is not stated in the order text. If your Twin Lakes plans involve walking out toward Interlaken, call the Leadville Ranger District at 719-486-0749. The order runs to June 2028, so this is a two year condition rather than a seasonal one. Note also that an older district alert from June 12 still says the Dexter House is safe to tour while other buildings should be avoided; the June 22 closure order is the later and stricter document. Re-read on the full district alert list Sep 3 at 7:52 PM, unchanged.
Official source: USFS Leadville Ranger District
The road over Mosquito Pass (13,185 ft) is a rough, high-clearance 4x4 route, typically passable only mid-summer through early fall depending on snow. There is no official live status feed for this county road, so reports from recent travelers and the ranger district are the best sources. No closure or restriction is posted for it on the district alert list as of the full re-read at 7:52 PM Sep 3.
Official source: USFS Leadville Ranger District
Checked each evening against official sources, USFS alerts, InciWeb fire closures, and CDOT. Always verify with the land manager before you go: Pike-San Isabel NF (Leadville Ranger District) · COtrip road conditions (US 24 / CO 91) · CAIC avalanche forecasts (winter).
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Start with the altitude guide, at 10,152 feet how you handle your first 48 hours matters more than anything you pack. Then: where to stay, getting here, the Leadville 100 crew guide, acclimatization strategies for racers, 16 years of race-weekend weather, how to get into the Leadville 100, and Mosquito Pass. All guides live under Guides.