Denver Weather: Considerably Less Heat, Considerably Less Wildfire Smoke

DENVER (CBS4) - After very hot and very smoky conditions on Monday, Denver and most of Colorado will enjoy noticeably cooler temperatures, better visibility, and much healthier air on Tuesday.

Denver tied a record with 99 degrees on Monday while other areas like Fort Collins broke a record with 97 degrees at the Fort Collins-Loveland Airport (the previous record in Fort Collins for June 13 was 96 degrees from 1956). Greeley also tied a record on Monday with 102 degrees at the Greeley-Weld County Airport.

In addition to the oppressive heat, wildfire smoke streaming into Colorado mostly from Arizona caused poor visibly and unhealthy air on Monday. A cold front that moved over the state Monday night has caused the wind direction to the shift and the smoke to be routed elsewhere mostly into New Mexico.

Therefore air quality and visibility will be considerably better on Tuesday, In fact, the Colorado Department of Pubic Health and Environment has declared the air to be "moderate" for Tuesday which is about as good as it usually gets in June. "Good" air quality is rare this time of year.

Temperatures will also be noticeably cooler on Tuesday with 80s around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins instead of 90s and 100s.

Colorado's next heat wave will start on Thursday and continue through Father's Day weekend. A chance for late day thunderstorms will return on Friday. A better chance develops for Saturday and Sunday.