Warm temperatures to start the week, a fall blast with high elevation snow to end it in Colorado

The high temperature in Denver should be around 66 degrees by the middle of October. Highs on Monday will approach the 80-degree mark, with temperatures hovering in the 70s through Thursday. It will be a generally warm first half of the work week, Tuesday being the exception.  

Winds will increase ahead of our next system by Wednesday and Thursday. This will create the potential for critical fire weather on both days. As of now, wind gusts up to 40 MPH will be possible on the Eastern Plains.

There is a LOT to unpack regarding the late-week system, and a lot of uncertainty. 

The big picture: A trough will push over the West Coast will move southeast and cut-off near northwest Arizona. The position is key, further west would result in the cold air stay too far west. This would result in significantly less cooling for the Eastern Plains compared to the current forecast. If it stays to the east, a wetter and cooler solutions would become more likely.  

At this point the First Alert Weather team is favoring a more west solution given the blocking from high pressure to the east, but lots can change in the coming days.