Denver Weather: Warmer Temperatures And Red Flag Warnings Return

DENVER (CBS4) - After the coldest morning in nine months for Denver and most of the Front Range, temperatures will recover into the 50s Thursday afternoon. The warmup is thanks to a dry southwest wind that will also raise the fire danger again.

The official low temperature in Denver Thursday morning was 12 degrees. That's the coldest temperature in the city since February 16th. It was even colder in other parts of Colorado. Limon dropped to just 1 degree above zero while Greeley wasn't much warmer with only 9 degrees Thursday morning. Many mountain areas were also in the single digits.

A shift in wind direction will bring a big warmup for Thursday afternoon with highs in the 50s around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. The normal high temperature in Denver on November 18th is 52 degrees and the city should be a couple degrees above normal.

The same wind will also increase the fire danger again. Expected gusts up to 40 mph have prompted a Red Flag Warning for the foothills, the Palmer Divide, and the South Park region. The warning starts a 10 a.m. Thursday and continues through 5 a.m. Friday which is unusual. Typically Red Flag Warnings expire around sunset but the wind should present overnight which could cause humidity to drop even lower.

Unfortunately, Estes Park and the area around where the Kruger Rock Fire continues to burn is included in the warning.

Looking ahead to Friday, weather conditions will be similar and temperatures should be warmer. Therefore another Red Flag Warning may be issued especially for the lower foothills, the Palmer Divide and Cheyenne ridge areas.

The next chance for any moisture at lower elevations will be on Saturday afternoon when there is 20% chance for very light rain. The mountains will get snow on Saturday and Saturday night but accumulation will be limited to 1-3 inches in most areas.