Colorado Weather: Big Warming Trend Expected Over Labor Day Weekend

DENVER (CBS4) - Happy Saturday! It's the long Labor Day Weekend and we hope you are making plans to take advantage of some quiet weather to enjoy our great state at some point over the next few days.

Temperatures will start out slightly below normal for some areas this weekend with statewide highs in the 70s and 80s on Saturday. In Denver we are predicting a high right around the 80 degree mark, give or take a few degrees.

But we'll see a pretty fast warming trend by Sunday and especially Monday as high temperatures climb back into the 80s and 90s. It's all thanks to a large ridge of high pressure that will build along the west coast.

The weather pattern could bring some wildfire smoke back into Colorado over the next few days. Right now it's hard to say how thick it will be and if it will trigger any air quality alerts.

Speaking of the air quality, we do have an Ozone Alert in effect along the I-25 urban corridor until 4 p.m. on Saturday. The levels of ozone are predicted to be high enough to cause discomfort for sensitive groups.

Last year we had record cold and snow right after the long Labor Day Weekend. We are not expecting anything like that this year. In fact, the forecast is just the opposite. By Thursday, some areas could experience record high afternoon temperatures, including Denver.