Colorado Weather: Gusty Winds Raise Fire Danger, Heat Wave Still On The Way
DENVER (CBS4) - A cold front that passed over Denver and the Front Range Monday night shifted winds to come out of the northwest. The result will be somewhat cooler temperatures on Tuesday along with gusty winds mainly in the afternoon.
The wind is a concern when it comes to fire danger and the National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for most lower elevation areas in the state including the entire Denver metro area. The warning is set to start at 11 a.m. and expire at 8 p.m.
Areas within the Red Flag Warning will experience a combination of very low humidity and northwest winds gusting up to 40 mph. If a fire were to start, it would spread rapidly with these conditions.
Weather models are showing the strongest wind during the mid-afternoon hours with sustained wind speeds reaching 15-20 mph along the Front Range.
Lighter wind is expected on Wednesday and the wind direction will start to shift back to the southwest. This southwesterly flow will continue through Friday and will transport very warm air from the deserts of Arizona, Nevada, and southern California toward Colorado for the end of the week. The record high in Denver on Thursday is 90 degrees set on April 30, 1992. That's also the record high for the entire month of April. We should be close!
