Colorado Weather: Dry, breezy, and warm Friday elevates fire danger

Colorado is caught between a big high pressure ridge over the west coast and a deep low pressure trough to the east. Across our home state we are in what is called a "pressure gradient" between the ridge and low that will get stronger northwesterly winds flowing across the Rockies.

This pattern means much warmer than normal temperatures on Friday with 70s along the Front Range and 80s for some areas on teh Eastern Plains.

Our weekly drought monitor also shows worsening drought conditions across the NE corner of the state. For the first time in almost a year, abnormally dry conditions expand in Colorado.

Because of the fire danger, a Red Flag Warning has been issued for all of northeast Colorado as well as the I-25 corridor from Longmont to Loveland to Fort Collins. The warning runs from noon to 6pm on Friday.

The fire danger will decrease considerably over the weekend thanks to less wind, cooler temperatures, and an increase in cloud cover from late Saturday though early Sunday. High temperatures will drop into the 60s in the Denver metro area on Saturday and may struggle to reach the lower 60s on Sunday.