Today’s weather statewide will be much like Tuesday’s, with cloudy skies bringing a chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, fire danger to southern Colorado and the threat of floods to northern Colorado and the Western Slope.
The National Weather Service issued a “red flag” fire warning today until 9 p.m. over a wide area of southern Colorado, including the Eastern Plains; San Luis Valley; Pikes Peak; Sangre de Cristo and Wet mountains; and Teller, Fremont, El Paso, Pueblo, Huerfano, Las Animas, Otero and Crowley counties.
A combination of extremely dry ground conditions; continued unseasonably warm weather; strong, gusty winds; low humidity; and the chance of dry thunderstorms with lightning has prompted concern about “critical fire weather conditions,” the weather service reports, and any fire in the warning area today has the potential to be “extreme” and spread quickly.
Meanwhile, in the mountains and on the Western Slope, unseasonably warm weather continues to accelerate the spring snow runoff, and creeks and rivers are on the rise.
Flood warnings and watches have been posted by the weather service for several areas, including the Elk River near Milner in Routt County, the Yampa River near Deerlodge Park in Moffat County and the East River near Almont in Gunnison County.
In Denver, cloudy skies will bring a 10 percent chance of thunderstorms after 3 p.m. today, with a high temperature of about 88 degrees, the weather service said.
Some thunderstorms today could be severe, the weather service warns, unleashing large hail on the Eastern Plains and small hail on the foothills west of Denver. Strong, damaging winds — up to 40 mph — are possible, and an isolated “tornado or two” could rise. The most likely chance for severe storms will be over the northeast plains east of Greeley to Byers, the weather service reports.
A cold front out of the west should start pushing into Colorado late this afternoon, bringing scattered snow showers tonight to some higher elevations and cooling off the state’s weather. The snow line will be at about 7,500 feet, according to the weather service.
Some high mountain areas could get up to 12 inches of snow from the storm, and winter conditions will exist in some parts of the high country tonight and Thursday morning, the weather service said.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
