Heading into this weekend... and almost a carbon copy of last weekend , a potent storm system is expected to ride a strong push from the Pacific jet stream, keeping most of the core energy north of Colorado. With a similar storm set up, similar impacts are expected to move through the state. We'll see wind and fire danger ramp up, especially south of I-70 on Saturday, heavy mountain snow picking up Saturday night and throughout Sunday, with a chan

After a very active start to February, we've really toned things down. We are now starting to see the atmosphere charge up again ahead of our next storm system set to move through Monday and Tuesday. Ahead of it, wind and fire danger concerns take us through the rest of the weekend, and on the back half, mountain snow developing Monday night, leading to a chance at some front range snow by Tuesday morning. Red Flag Warnings Today (pink) and Fire Weather Watches for Sunday (tan)Above is the curr

Denver has yet to hit the 90°s this year, but will give it a run again today. If the city should hit 90°, it'll be the latest first such day since 1982. Let's give the hourly planner a look-see, yep it touches 90... Although the storm chance is lower today, there's a higher likelihood for storms over the northeastern plains, and for the city the chances do increase in the next few days. Just for today, here is the probability of thunderstorms across the state. Although seemingly a quiet weat

Fire danger remains critically high today and Saturday for parts of Colorado in similar conditions that allowed dangerous fires to spread Thursday. You may have noted the views of smoke, or even smelled it as my kids did leaving school yesterday, but fires in Park, Teller, and El Paso Counties spread in the strong wind and dry tinder. > DFPC assisted across the state with several wildland fires:#403Fire -Park County (DFPC will b

There's a problem this time of the year when we hit these dry spells and temperatures warm - wind and prairie fires. Look at the precipitation map for the month to date shown as a percentage of average, and you'll see the bullseye of dryness over the High Plains. This, added with the existing drought in the same areas, is problematic right now as vegetation still largely dormant or coming out of dormancy is more kindling than it is of grazing value. So, we have to watch for wind events that

A dangerous combination of elements has come together today to give much of region extreme fire danger conditions should one be ignited. The map above is a product issued by the Storm Prediction Center as a general guidance tool. More specific information and alert issuance is done at the local level, and this is the Friday morning briefing provided by the NWS office in Boulder. There is a lot going on today, beyond and yet related

After unusually warm temperatures this weekend, the weather turns cooler and unsettled for the week. Although enjoyable weather in most respects, the weekend's warmth combined with dormant vegetation turns to a dangerous fire situation in Boulder County. Per the Boulder OEM , the evacuations as of late Saturday included more than 1,500 people, down from 19,000 earlier in the day. > The NCAR Fire Evacuation Area updated at 11:08 P.M. on March 26 includes 1,629 p

*** This post will be updated through the afternoon. *** Multiple fires are burning outside of Boulder, Colorado putting homes and lives at risk. Highways, including U.S. 36 are closed, and evacuation orders are in place for Superior, Colorado, which has a population of roughly 13,000 people, and Louisville, Colorado. Additional evacuations are possible through the afternoon and evening. Latest evacuation map: 5:15pm: As many as 600 homes have been burned in the fire as it continues into th

The latest surge of smoke that increased across Colorado Saturday led to Denver climbing the list of worst air qualities in the world and hit that terrible number one spot Saturday afternoon. Based on IQAir data Saturday afternoon, here's Denver in the top spot: The smoke was forecast days in advance, and tracked easily on satellite images as it moves into Colorado Saturday morning; As far as the forecast for Sunday , continued smoke. Although

We've been tracking a cool down for some time now, set to arrive Sunday and bring temperatures across Northeast Colorado closer average for this time of year. A couple of notes in today's update, both related. Temperatures aren't forecast to cool nearly as much as it once looked for your Sunday - Tuesday timeframe, and the front looks largely dry east of the mountains aside from some spotty showers. Still, instead of temperatures in the mid 80s or so, we'll see highs drop into the mid 70s for

Dry conditions across the region are helping fuel two large fires across Western Colorado this week forcing I-70 to close near Glenwood Springs , and evacuation orders to be made as multiple fires burn out of control. The Grizzly Creek fire as of Wednesday evenin

It's been a quiet seven days in Denver after a pretty active second half of July. The eastern plains have seen good moisture in the last week, but there too the storms have quieted in recent days. Seven day totals show the Denver area being quite dry as compared to much of eastern Colorado over the last week: The storms have seemingly been replaced with smoke. The last several days have featured very smokey skies, at times being quite an irritant to the eyes and throat. Unfortunately we'll h

The first of two systems this week is swinging through northern Colorado this afternoon and is making its presence felt in the form of strong winds and high fire danger across eastern Colorado. Red Flag Warnings and High Wind Warnings will stick with us through about 9pm tonight before conditions start to improve. The core of the storm system is missing north, leaving those of us east of the mountains without much precipitation to speak of, just wind... so... much... wind. After today, our

I would be totally shocked to hear you say you haven't noticed the smoky sky around the Denver area this week. Since we've all noticed it, what can we do about it? Well, short of putting out the fires causing the smoke there is nothing we can do – obviously. The weather pattern will have to change to bring rain or a wind shift, and neither will happen soon enough. The map above shows all the active large fires, and clearly, the western U.S. is dealing with a lot. There are 140 fires coverin

The state of the atmosphere is hot and dry. Yesterday we posted some stats on 100 degree temperatures in Denver, shortly before DIA would go on to hit a high of 102° Sunday afternoon, setting a record for the date. Yesterday was the first time in two years the city officially logged a 100° reading, so a hot day indeed. Related: Cold Springs Fire destroys 3 homes, 0% contained [http://www.denverpost.com/2016/07/11/firefighters-

A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for the plains and some of the Front Range Tuesday. This time, this is due to strong winds and low relative humidity expected statewide. Despite the wind being a statewide issue, the fire danger is highest on the plains. This is due to its lack of snow cover, warm temperatures, and low humidity. The mountains still have a lot of snow cover so that prevents their fire threat, for now. March has been a warm and dry month. The month's temperatures are averaging