Freeze Watch warns of subfreezing temperatures in Las Animas County

Sub-freezing temperatures as low as 25 degrees were expected late Wednesday night into Thursday morning across Trinidad Vicinity and western Las Animas County below 7,500 feet, putting exposed neighborhoods, ranchlands and low-lying spots at risk of frost before sunrise.

The National Weather Service in Pueblo said the freeze covered portions of southern Colorado, and the practical impact for Las Animas County was immediate. Gardeners were urged to protect tender plants and anything already greening up after the warm spell, while residents with outdoor plumbing were told to take precautions before the cold settled in. Backyard gardens, greenhouse starts, livestock water systems and vulnerable pipes at cabins or outbuildings were among the first things most likely to feel the hit.

The weather service also said the cold was strong enough to justify upgrading the Freeze Watch to a Freeze Warning, with a hard freeze on the plains likely Wednesday night into Thursday morning. That made the event more than a routine chilly morning for Trinidad, western county ranches and other exposed parts of the county, where a sharp overnight drop can damage young vegetation and strain water systems in a matter of hours.

The timing mattered because spring freeze risk in this part of Colorado does not end with the first warm stretch. Pueblo’s average last freeze date is April 29, Colorado Springs’ is May 8 and Alamosa’s is June 8, a spread that shows why late-season cold snaps remain a concern well into May across south central and southeast Colorado. National Weather Service Pueblo says sub-freezing temperatures are still likely in spring, and it notes that it is generally too early to plant tender vegetation in much of the region.

The return to freezing weather also came after an unusually warm April in Pueblo. The city’s average temperature for April 2026 was 54.3 degrees, 3.0 degrees above normal, making it the 14th warmest April on record. That warmth may have encouraged early planting and tender new growth, but the freeze watch was a reminder that the growing season in Las Animas County was still vulnerable, especially before sunrise in the county’s most exposed spots.