Watch CBS News

Denver Weather: Fluctuating Temperatures Expected This Week

DENVER (CBS4) - The week ahead will be a difficult one to forecast in terms of the daily temperature if you live along and east of Interstate 25. That's because we will have a strong westerly jet stream above us but occasional bouts of easterly winds at the surface.

When the easterly winds blow they will transport colder, more humid air into the state. You can see that in the FutureCast movie above as a bank of clouds moves from right to left sometime Monday night.

When this happens it will bring low clouds and fog onto the plains, but since cold air is dense, the westward movement is usually stopped by the higher terrain of the foothills. The result is an inversion where eastern Colorado is much colder than the mountains and western slope.

cum3k06w8aa3fr3
An inversion over Denver and the plains. (credit: CBS4)

The battle zone and the most difficult forecast sets up right along the foothills because westerly winds above will fight the easterly winds below, and that creates a wide variety of temperatures and conditions over short distances along and east of Interstate 25.

Other than the temperature issue it should be a relatively quiet weather week ahead with off and on chances for mountain snow showers and gusty winds.

Looking ahead to next week we could see a storm system move into Colorado as we start the first full week of March. Stay tuned to see how the forecast evolves over the next few days.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.