Denver Weather: Gusty Winds Return And Cause Fire Danger To Soar
DENVER (CBS4) - After multiple days with relatively little wind in Colorado, gusts will top 50 mph on Friday causing the highest possible fire danger for parts of the state.
There are four levels of fire danger in Colorado. The state often experiences level 2 (elevated) and level 3 (critical) but level 4 (extreme) is more rare. Yet it will be so dry and windy in the southeast region of the state that officials announced a level 4 threat for communities like Pueblo, Trinidad, La Junta, and Lamar. This area is shaded in pink on the map below.
For Denver and the Front Range, fire danger is critical (level 3) east of I-25 and elevated (level 2) on the west side of town. Therefore the Red Flag Warning for high fire danger in Colorado on Friday does include the entire Denver metro area through 7 p.m.
Westerly winds will gusts will reach over 50 mph at times and relative humidity (a measure of moisture in the air) will be under 20% meaning the air is very dry.
Any source that produces a spark on Friday could carry fire faster than most humans can run. That is why the CBS4 Weather Team has also declared Friday a First Alert Weather Day in the metro area.
Looking ahead to the weekend, fire danger will remain at least elevated (level 2) on Saturday before a new weather patterns starts to take over late Sunday. April will likely be the driest April on record in Denver but May should be different at least for the first few days of the month.
A storm system set to pass over the Rocky Mountain region Sunday and Monday should take a path favorable for measurable moisture along the Front Range. Some weather models suggest the northeast plains of Colorado could get more than 1 inch of rain. That much moisture is not likely in the Denver metro area but it should be the most significant precipitation in town since March 29th when 0.17" was measured.
