DENVER — Wednesday will start with a few scattered snow showers in the early morning hours, mainly over the mountains and nearby foothills.
Some light accumulation is possible in the high country, with a couple inches falling overnight and a few slick spots on mountain passes.
Across the plains and urban corridor, temperatures will stay cooler Wednesday with afternoon high temperatures mainly in the low to mid 50s. Breezy winds will continue, especially in the mountains and northeastern plains.
Wednesday night will remain mostly clear and quiet, but attention quickly turns to stronger winds developing on Thursday. A powerful downsloping wind event is expected to form along the foothills, where wind gusts could exceed 80 to 90 mph in some higher elevation areas. Parts of the nearby plains and urban corridor could also see gusty conditions, with winds potentially reaching 35 to 50 mph. These strong winds combined with very low humidity will lead to dangerous fire weather conditions.
On Friday, winds may ease slightly but conditions will remain warm, dry and breezy. This means the risk for fires will stay elevated across much of the plains, urban corridor and lower foothills. Even though the strongest gusts may not be as intense as Thursday, the air will stay very dry, allowing critical fire weather conditions to continue.
Another round of stronger winds is expected on Saturday as the jet stream dips south and strengthens the downsloping flow again across Colorado. Warm and dry weather during the day will once again support widespread fire danger. By late Saturday, however, a strong cold front will begin moving into the region, bringing a shift in the weather pattern.
As the cold front arrives Saturday night, snow will begin developing in the mountains and may continue into Sunday. There is also a chance that some of this moisture reaches the lower elevations, which could bring light precipitation to the plains. Temperatures will turn noticeably cooler on Sunday before warming up again early next week.
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