Today, we also take a detailed look at how negotiations on a revised Colorado River compact failed spectacularly and what may come next. The wind gusts today are expected to be.....Forecast maximum wind gusts today on the Plains. (Pivotal Weather)Fire weather is defined as “extremely critical” in western Nebraska, northwest Kansas, and northeast Colorado today, a high-end day for this region. Given the dreadfully low snowpack this winter in the Colorado Basin, with the upper basin running near record low levels and the timing of this arriving trainwreck, it’s very bad news. The problem right now is that the Upper Basin states (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico) don’t want to take mandatory cuts in their water use.

Source: Washington Post February 17, 2026 23:33 UTC