Leadville right now live
humidity 24%
Daily brief · 2026-08-16
Sunday is the break in the pattern: mostly sunny in town, highs 65 to 76, light winds, and no daytime thunderstorm chance in the NWS Pueblo forecast for Lake County below 11,000 feet, after a week of afternoon storms. Sunrise 6:19, sunset 8:00, and the night before runs cold, lows 35 to 44 with a 20 percent storm chance fading after dark, so high routes get an unusually clean morning; the hazardous weather outlook still keeps storms possible across southern Colorado, with the severe risk pointed at the plains rather than the mountains. Smoke is not a factor right now, no air quality advisory covers Lake County and CDPHE's Aug 13 outlook expects the clean pattern to hold through the weekend, but the Willow Fire closure west of town runs through Sep 30 and still shuts Mount Massive Wilderness, the North Elbert trail and the Halfmoon campgrounds, so check the Forest Service order before you pick a trailhead. Anglers, the most recent USGS provisional readings on file, Friday evening, put the Arkansas at Granite at 64.6 F, just under the 65 F trout-stress line, Halfmoon Creek at 58.6 F, and the Arkansas near Leadville at a skinny 12.8 cfs, so fish the cold hours and let the afternoon go. Run week opens today: the LT100 Run guns at 4 AM Saturday, six days out, and US 24 resurfacing between Minturn and Leadville, MP 148 to 175, goes back to weekday hours Monday, 7 AM to 7 PM, one lane alternating with delays up to 20 minutes, worth padding into arrival drives.
Air quality
Wind
UV max
Oxygen
Daylight
Next race
7-day forecast
Data in this page rendered live at 08/16/2026 13:15 MT (NOAA/NWS models via Open-Meteo, USGS gauges); your browser also refreshes these numbers 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. Check the official NWS forecast before you go.
Water · flows & temps7-day detail
| Gauge | Flow | Water temp |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas R. nr Leadville | 12.6 cfs | - |
| Halfmoon Creek | 7.49 cfs | 55.0°F |
| Arkansas R. at Granite | - | 64.6°F |
Trails & roads · notices verified 2026-08-15
Highway status · checked 2026-08-15, evening (MT)
Leadville to I-70 at Copper Mtn, MP 0 to 22.6. Surface condition last pulled from the COtrip feed Aug 13; no closures or restrictions have been posted since, and no NWS alert covers the pass. · Dry Sunday, mostly sunny, light winds, no daytime storm chance in the Lake County forecast
Leadville to Minturn. No adverse conditions posted as of the Aug 13 feed pull. Active resurfacing zone, see below.
CDOT resurfacing, culvert, wall, guardrail and chain station work from south of Minturn to Mountain View Drive, running May through November 2026. Work hours are Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 7 PM: one-lane alternating traffic, 11 ft width restriction, reduced speeds and delays up to 20 minutes. No weekday work Saturday or Sunday, so it is clear Sunday Aug 16 and clear again on Run race day Saturday Aug 22; weekday work resumes Monday Aug 17 and runs all Run week, so pad arrival drives from Minturn and I-70. Re-verified against the CDOT project page Aug 15 (page last modified Aug 13).
Intermittent one-lane alternating traffic, shoulder closures and a 40 mph limit, 7 AM to 7 PM on Aug 20. Delays up to 15 minutes, 12 ft width limit. That is the Thursday before the Run, on the main approach from Buena Vista. From the COtrip planned-events feed, last pulled Aug 13.
One-lane alternating traffic with flaggers during the day through September 6, two lanes open at night. From the COtrip planned-events feed, last pulled Aug 13.
Highway data from CDOT / COtrip, state highways only. County and forest roads are covered in the notices below.
USFS order 02-12-01-26-33, signed Aug 10, runs from July 30 at 2 PM through Sep 30 at 11:59 PM unless rescinded. The closed area sits west of town, from the south shore of Turquoise Lake and the south side of NFSR 104D south to half a mile below Halfmoon Road, west to the district boundary. Still closed: Mount Massive Wilderness, North Mount Elbert Trail 1484, Windsor Lake Trail 1490, Highline/Native Lake Trail 1489, North Halfmoon Creek Trail 1485, Willow Creek Trailhead, and the Elbert Creek and Halfmoon East and West campgrounds. Evacuation orders were lifted July 30. Both 2026 Leadville 100 courses were rerouted around this closure: Hagerman Pass Road, Sugarloaf Mountain and Powerline are off both the MTB and Run courses this year. Order, described area and rec-site list re-verified against the Forest Service page Aug 15.
Official source: USFS Pike-San Isabel NF
Stage 2 fire restrictions (order 02-12-00-26-29) cover the Leadville Ranger District through Nov 14 unless rescinded. No campfires, charcoal or wood stoves anywhere on forest land, gas or liquid fuel stoves only, in a cleared area. No smoking outside an enclosed vehicle or building. Crews and campers on National Forest land during Run week, this applies to you, and the race carries the same rule at its crew locations: stoves must have an on/off valve. Fire danger posted for the Leadville district is High as of Aug 15.
Official source: USFS Pike-San Isabel NF
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 as of Aug 15.
Official source: USFS Leadville Ranger District
Checked each morning 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).
Get the brief by email
The daily conditions brief, in your inbox every morning. Tell us what you're here for and the brief will lean that way as we grow. Unsubscribe anytime.
Live data refreshes as you read. Daily brief written each morning. All data provisional, verify with official sources.
Pause on the temperature or the water table and they open up. This page also quietly adapts to what you read most, stored on your device only, never transmitted. Reset
Planning a trip up here?
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, and Mosquito Pass. All guides live under Guides.