Colorado Weather: Gusty winds on Thursday causes fire danger to soar

Somewhat cooler temperatures and mostly cloudy conditions on Thursday won't help elevated fire danger due to gusty winds in the afternoon.

A First Alert Weather Day has been declared through Thursday evening. The combination of wind gusts up to 45 mph and relatively humidity under 15% could cause a wildfire to spread very quickly. Outdoor burning or any activity that causes a spark should absolutely be avoided on Thursday.

The greatest concern about wildfires is in southeast Colorado where critical fire danger will develop. Fortunately no part of the state will experience extreme fire danger which was the case on December 2021 when the Marshall Fire devastated Boulder County.

High temperatures along the Front Range will be in the 70s instead of the record breaking 80s the metro area experienced on Tuesday and Wednesday. The record high temperature in Denver on Thursday is 85 degrees from 2006 which is very safe.

Looking ahead to Friday, fire danger will drop considerably thanks to the arrival of a cold front. Temperatures will drop into the 30s and 40s plus rain and snow is likely.

Any snow accumulation in the Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins areas on Friday will be minor with no more than 1 inch on the grass, rooftops, and vehicles. No snow accumulation is expected on the roads.