First Alert Weather Day: Snow in the mountains, fire danger on the Eastern Plains, freeze watch
It was a First Alert Weather Day on Sunday for snow and wind in the mountains, fire danger on the Eastern Plains and a freeze watch for the Denver metro area.
It will be cooler and windy today in the front range. It is possible we could see a rain shower or flurry later tonight, but accumulation is not expected. Daytime high temperatures will only be in the low 60s before temperatures tumble this afternoon and overnight as a cold front moves through the state. On Sunday night, there is a Freeze Watch for the metro area, including Boulder, Fort Collins, Greeley and Castle Rock. Denver could see the first freeze of the season with temperatures throughout the metro area dropping to 28 degrees.
The combination of dry air and gusty winds will create critical fire danger for the Eastern Plains. The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the majority of the Eastern Plains for high fire danger from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Sunday. We're expecting gusts up to 50 mph and relatively humidity under 15%. That means if a fire were to start, it could spread very quickly in the warned area.
In southwest Colorado, we have a high wind warning from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. We could see gusts up to 60 mph and could see reduced visibility to less than a quarter mile due to blowing dust.
In the mountains, we have a Winter Storm Warning and a Winter Weather Advisory in effect through Monday morning. On top of the snow we could see wind gusts 40 to 60 mph making travel difficult in the high country. Five to 9 inches of snow is expected in Summit County, and 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible in the Park Range. The mountain valleys could see 1-3 inches of snow.
