Denver Weather: Damaging Hurricane Force Wind Possible West Of I-25 On Wednesday

DENVER (CBS4) - A cold front racing toward Colorado will cause a tremendous amount of wind for areas in and near the Front Range foothills on Wednesday. Gusts could reach 75 mph in some areas.

The National Weather Service has issued a High Wind Watch from Wednesday afternoon through late Wednesday night for all of Jefferson County and most of Broomfield, Boulder, Larimer Counties. Parts of Douglas and Weld Counties are also included.

Cities such as Lakewood, Golden, Conifer, Evergreen, Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, and Fort Collins could experience wind gusts up to 75 mph mainly in the later afternoon and early evening on Wednesday. Hurricane force wind starts at 74 mph.

The cold front responsible for the gusty conditions will bring far more wind than moisture. That said, the Denver metro area could see a few flurries or sprinkles Wednesday night. There will be no snow accumulation in the metro area.

Meanwhile, the mountains will get light snow Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Total accumulation will be relativity minor with 1-5 inches at most ski areas north of Highway 50. Although accumulation will be light, blowing and drifting could cause very slow travel including along I-70.

In terms of temperatures, it will be mild for January on Tuesday with highs reaching the mid 50s around Denver and Boulder.

Wednesday will be even warmer thanks to to the very gusty "downsloping" winds. Denver could reach 60 degrees for the first time this year.

Then much colder weather returns for the end of the week. And with at least some wind sticking around for Thursday, it will be quite blustery. The next chance for any accumulating snow in Denver will hold off until Saturday. At this time it does not look like much.