Colorado Weather: More record heat Wednesday, elevated fire danger on Thursday

Record high temperatures are expected again along the Front Range on Wednesday before critical fire danger spreads into the state on Thursday.

A First Alert Weather Day has already been declared for Thursday including the Denver metro area because of high fire danger.

The record high temperature in Denver for Wednesday is 79 degrees set on April 12, 2018. The record is likely to be tied in the late morning hours and broken by early afternoon. It will be the second consecutive day with record heat after 85 degrees officially in Denver on Tuesday (the old record was 80 degrees from April 11, 1982).

Temperatures will be far above normal statewide on Wednesday causing melting mountain snow and some of the first 90 degree temperatures of the season for southeast Colorado.

Then the first of two cold fronts heading for Colorado before the weekend will arrive on Thursday. High temperatures along the urban corridor will drop into the 70s with extra clouds and wind gusts up to 40 mph around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins. Despite the cooler temperatures, the gusty wind and continued dry conditions will elevate the fire danger.

A Fire Weather Watch has been posted for Thursday for all areas in Colorado east of the mountains including the entire Denver metro area. The watch is a precursor to a Red Flag Warning that will likely be issued for Thursday.

Outdoor burning should certainly be avoided along with any activity that may produce a spark. The combination of warm temperatures, gusty winds, low relatively humidity, and dry soil could cause any fire to spread very quickly.

Much cooler and wetter weather will arrive Thursday night into Friday as a second cold front arrives. The mountains will get spring snow with 3-6 inches expected in Summit County. Snow is not expected in the Denver metro area but cold rain showers are likely.