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Colorado Weather: Near Record Temperatures Cause Increasingly High Fire Danger

DENVER (CBS4) - For the second day in a row, temperatures will reach near 80 degrees in Denver and along almost most of the urban corridor on Thursday. Temperatures will be far above normal throughout the state some areas in southeast Colorado will come close to 90 degrees. The record highs on Thursday in Denver is 86 degrees set in 1926 which is likely safe.

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(source: CBS)

The combination of warm temperatures, gusty southwest winds, low humidity, and dry soil means the fire danger will climb even higher on Thursday. More than half the state is under a Red Flag Warning from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. including the Colorado Springs and Pubelo areas and most of the high country.

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(source: CBS)

The first of two storm system set to impact Colorado through the weekend will arrive Thursday night into Friday morning. The storm won't bring much if any precipitation to lower elevations but will bring a snow to the mountains and minor accumulation to the higher peaks and passes on Friday. Temperatures will also drop by about 15 degrees and the combination of snow and cooler temperatures will allow the fire danger to drop considerably for Friday and the weekend.

A second storm arrives Saturday night into Sunday and brings more snow the mountains. Some of the snow north of I-70 will likely be heavy.

Wildfire Resources

- Visit CBSDenver.com's Colorado Wildfires section.

Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile), the deadliest (Storm King) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.

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