Colorado Weather: Many areas will experience vicious winds through Friday afternoon
A cold front moving across Colorado on Friday will bring snow to the mountains and gusty winds almost statewide.
The strongest wind along the Front Range will be found west of Interstate 25 and south of C-470 in Douglas County. Gusts have the potential of reaching over 65 mph in these areas.
Most locations east of the Continental Divide including most of the urban corridor and nearly all of the Eastern Plains are under a High Wind Warning through 5 p.m. Friday.
As of 8 a.m. Friday, the strongest wind gust was clocked at the notoriously windy intersection at Highways 93 and 72 in northwest Arvada. That location near Rocky Flats clocked a 81 mph wind gust Thursday night which is the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane.
Meanwhile the mountains will get pounded with wind and snow on Friday. There is a Winter Storm Warning until 5 p.m. Friday for at least a few more inches of snow along with wind gusts up to 80 mph. The combination of both means widespread blowing snow that could significantly reduce visibility and make travel difficult in the high country.
Cool and much calmer weather will return for the weekend. High temperatures in the metro area will be near normal in the 40s on Saturday followed by lower 50s on Sunday. Lingering light snow is possible in the mountains on Saturday and Saturday night. Sunday should be dry statewide.
