High winds are set to rake a swath of the Front Range Thursday, the National Weather Service warned tonight.
In addition to a high-wind warning from midnight through noon Thursday for most of the Front Range, southern Colorado and part of the southwest mountains are under a “red flag” alert for elevated fire danger.
Wind gusts up to 80 mph and sustained winds of 50 mph are expected between 3 a.m. and 10 a.m., then decreasing, forecasters said.
Gusts could snap tree limbs and cause power outages, the Weather Service warned.
“These winds can cause lightweight objects to become dangerous airborne projectiles,” according to the Weather Service warning. “High profile vehicles and vehicles pulling trailers can be flipped by crosswinds. Blowing dust can quickly reduce visibility to near zero resulting in hazardous driving conditions and accidents involving motorists taken by surprise.
“Blowing dust or sand can also be a health hazard for those with respiratory problems. Secure lightweight objects. Avoid traveling on roads with crosswinds.”
While waters have subsided after recent floods, a flood advisory remains in effect until Friday afternoon for parts of the South Platte River in northeast Colorado.
At 5:45 p.m. Wednesday the river was at 9.4 feet, or just below its flood state of 10 feet, according to the National Weather Service.
The South Platte at Fort Lupton was flowing at 2,560 cubic feet per second Wednesday. The 36-year mean flow is 943 cfs, according to online river gages posted by the U.S. Geological Survey office in Lakewood.
Only a few rivers are running faster than normal, but one of them is Cherry Creek in Denver, which was flowing more than three times faster than usual for the date, according to the USGS.
Gore Creek through Vail has caused flooding and dangerous currents for more than a week. Waters had slowed in recent days, but Gore Creek was still flowing twice as fast for the date Wednesday.The flooding has been attributed to a fast snowmelt because of warmer temperatures in the high country, as well as recent thunderstorms and weekend-long rain in some parts of Colorado.
