DENVER — A strong cold front raced across the Denver metro area last night, bringing gusty winds, scattered storms and much cooler temperatures. We're also seeing more smoke funnel into the state from fires burning outside of Colorado behind that front.
We'll see partly sunny skies Friday morning across the plains and some wet roads in the mountains. Temperatures have dipped into the upper 40s and low 50s for the morning drive and it will be a slow warm up.
Smoke from wildfires burning across the Pacific Northwest and even Canada is moving into Colorado and will linger into the weekend. There's an Air Quality Alert is in effect for the Denver metro area until at least 4 p.m. Friday for multiple pollutants, including high levels of ozone and smoke)
As for the cooler air, it settles in for the end of the work week across the Eastern Plains. Look for dramatically cooler, below-average daytime highs in the upper 60s to low 70s Friday. It'll be a nice break from the heat, but it also marks the beginning of a bit more active weather pattern heading into the weekend.
A few storms are possible Friday afternoon, especially in the mountains and along the southern Front Range. We're only seeing a slight chance of those showers in Denver and north toward Fort Collins. There will be more sunshine across the plains on Saturday, with increasing clouds on Sunday.
A few storms are possible for the first regular season Broncos game! Temperatures will climb into the low 80s by kick off on Sunday.
Looking ahead to early next, the ridge of high pressure will sit atop Colorado ushering in warmer weather. Temperatures are expected to skyrocket back into the mid to upper 80s and close to 90 degrees by midweek.
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