Denver Weather: Tropical Storm To Hurricane Force Wind Gusts Will Keep Area On Wildfire Alert Tuesday

DENVER (CBS4) - It's a First Alert Weather Day for Denver, the mountains and the eastern plains of Colorado. A strong cold front will move through the state during the day while a powerful jet stream roars overhead. These two features are part of a storm system to the north of Colorado.

The result will be strong and gusty wind speeds around most of the state with the potential to see some wind gusts reach the strength of a weak hurricane in locations along and east of the Continental Divide. We saw that overnight in areas to the southwest of Boulder and in Wondervu.

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Warning for a large part of eastern Colorado, including the Denver metro area. In addition many of the same areas are under a Red Flag Warning for high fire danger. If any new fires start they could grow quickly.

Another weather hazard on the eastern plains and in the San Luis Valley will be blowing dust. The state health department has issued an advisory for this through 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

There could be a few isolated sprinkles or light rain showers in and around Denver, as well as on the eastern plains, with the passage of the cold front. But we are not expecting anything significant or long-lasting.

In the mountains we will see some snow along and north of Highway 50 where some locations above 9,000 feet could get 4 to 8 inches of accumulation. The strong and gusty wind could create travel problems at times, especially on exposed roadways, such as mountain passes.

The storm will start to move away from Colorado on Wednesday but it will still be windy and cold. A warmer and less windy weather pattern will start to take shape on Thursday. The forecast in Denver is looking mild and dry for the Rockies home opener this weekend.