DENVER — Anyone taking in Colorado’s outdoors on Saturday are urged to use caution and avoid burning anything as a red flag warning goes into effect.
The National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder said the red flag warning will go into effect starting at 10 a.m. through 7 p.m. Saturday for a large portion of Colorado’s Front Range and eastern plains.
“Unfortunately fire danger is going to be a lot higher tomorrow,” said Denver7 Morning Meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.
The combination of strong winds, blowing from the southwest with gusts up to 45 mph plus low humidity will create conditions for “extreme fire behavior,” said the NWS in its alert.
The Denver metro is also included in the warning as is the following counties, according to the NWS:
- North Douglas County below 6,000 feet
- Denver, west Adams and Arapahoe Counties
- East Broomfield County
- Elbert County
- Central and east Douglas Counties above 6,000 feet
- Northeast Weld, Central and south Weld County
- Morgan County
- Central and northeast Elbert County below 6,000 feet
- North Lincoln County
- Washington county
NWS Boulder
In addition to Saturday’s weather alert, a red flag warning remains in effect for southern Lincoln County until 6 p.m. Friday.
The warnings come on the heels of a strong storm system that will dump large amounts of snow across the western portion of the United States and bring up to 15 inches of snow to areas in Colorado’s high country this weekend through Monday morning.
“It’s going to lose a little steam as it gets closer to the state,” added Hidalgo. “Likely looking at some of our heaviest snow right in through the northern and also down through the southwestern mountains, we’ve got a number of watches going into effect for quite a few counties.”
A winter storm watch goes into effect Saturday through Monday morning or heavy snow in Colorado’s mountain communities including in Rabbit Ears Pass, Rocky Mountain National Park, Medicine Bow Range, Mountains of Summit County, among other areas.
The NWS warned accumulations between 6 and 18 inches is possible with wind gusts up to 75 mph.
Slick travel conditions can be expected through the mountains, with limited visibility possible due to blowing snow, said the NWS.
For the Denver metro area, Saturday’s weather should remain warm with windy conditions. The high temperature in Denver on Saturday is expected to be close to 70 degrees. On Sunday, expect slight cooler temps in Denver with a high of 55 degrees and the potential for showers.
Although Colorado’s mountains can expect snow, Hidalgo said Denver and the eastern plains could see periods of light rain and snow mix starting Sunday through Monday.
As the calendar rolls into March, the winter blasts in February have helped the Denver metro area get a little closer to normal snowfall totals for the season.
The 13.7 inches of snow recorded at Denver International Airport boosted the cumulative total for the year at 29.1 inches, which lags behind the 34.9 inches normally seen at this point in the season.
To view the Denver snowfall statistics infographics in fullscreen mode click this link.
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Jeff Anastasio
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