Powerful, erratic, westerly winds.
“So that’s a Chinook wind,” said Mike Baker, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Boulder. “If you like wind, this will be your day. If you don’t, it’s time to pack it in,”
What it means for Denver is that the temperature will rise to 20 degrees above the normal of 45 to 65.
Early Tuesday for Longmont, where temperatures would normally drop to the teens or 20s overnight in December, the temperature was a very mild 52 at sunrise.
“There are high rivers of wind. We get these pulses. One minute it could be dead calm, the next minute it could be 45 mph,” Baker said.
He said the Chinook winds could last — periodically — all day.
Wednesday promises to be another Chinook windy day with temperatures rising to 67 degrees. The forecast for Thursday is 64 degrees.
A cold front will then drop temperatures 10 degrees on Friday to a high of 54 degrees. Saturday and Sunday highs are expected to be 39 and 45 degrees respectively.
“We’re all really spoiled with this nice warm weather,” Baker said.
The mountains could get some snow Tuesday in the higher elevations, but only about an inch is expected, he said.
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, kmitchell@denverpost.com or @kirkmitchell or
