Watch CBS News

Colorado Weather: Fire Danger Soars Before The Season's First Arctic Cold Front

DENVER (CBS4)- Very warm weather for November combined with gusty winds, low humidity, and very dry soil will create critical fire danger on Tuesday. Then a dramatic change will arrive Tuesday night with temperatures plunging more than 30 degrees going into Wednesday.

A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Denver and almost the entire I-25 corridor in Colorado from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach 45 mph at times while relative humidity remains under 15%.

Red Flag Warning
(source: CBS)

Meanwhile, temperatures will stay far above normal again on Tuesday with most neighborhood around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins reaching at least 70 degrees.

DMA Today Highs
(source: CBS)

Cold air originating from Canada will then quickly invade Colorado starting Tuesday evening. In many areas around the state, Wednesday will be the coldest day so far this season and that will especially be true for Wednesday night.

North American Temp FutureCast
Credit: CBS4

Low temperatures will fall into the single digits and teens almost state wide Thursday morning. Denver should reach at least 19 degrees making it the coldest temperature in the city since last April.

DMA Day 2 Lows
(source: CBS)

In terms of moisture, some mountain areas mainly along and north of Interstate 70 could see light snow combined with very gusty winds Tuesday night. Any accumulation will be very minor and should be mostly limited to the highest peaks and passes.

The chance for any moisture in the Denver metro area is even smaller but a few flurries are possible mostly after midnight through about sunrise Wednesday.  There will be no accumulating snow in Denver meaning our long and almost historic streak without snow continues. The city will set a new record for the latest first snow ever recorded assuming there is no snow through Sunday (November 21) which seems almost certain.

Ashton Misc 10
(source: CBS)

After the very cold start to the day on Thursday, temperatures will return to the 50s Thursday afternoon and 60s will return for Friday.

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.