Colorado Weather: Warm And Dry With Some Record Highs Likely This Weekend

DENVER (CBS4) - The month of April is starting off dry and unusually warm across Colorado thanks to a big ridge of high pressure sitting over the western United States. Afternoon high temperatures will be near record levels in some places, including Denver, both Saturday and Sunday.

If you plan to be outside the wind will be on the light side through Sunday with speeds averaging between 5-15 mph each afternoon. But by Monday the wind will pick up as a storm system moves into the Pacific Northwest.

Because it will remain very warm into early next week the high wind speeds combined with how dry it is means the fire danger will increase. We already have a Fire Weather Watch in effect for portions of the western slope on Monday.

That storm will eventually drag a cold front into the state by Tuesday and Wednesday. Temperatures will drop back closer to where they should be for this time of year. We'll also see a small chance for some light mountain snow and even a few rain showers in the lower elevations by Tuesday and early Wednesday.