Denver Weather: Storms Finally Clear Colorado, Brighter And Warmer Weather Starts Wednesday

DENVER (CBS4) - A series of unusually cold storm systems that persisted for five days have finally moved away from Colorado. In the wake of those storms expect sunny, breezy, and eventually much warmer weather.

High temperatures for Denver and the Front Range will be at least 15 degrees warmer on Wednesday compared to Tuesday and there will be plenty of sunshine. However, it will be breezy at times with a northerly wind gusting up to 35 mph. The wind will make it feel cooler than the temperatures may suggest.

A bigger warmup will arrive for Thursday with temperatures reaching at least 80 degrees around Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins.

Then as a large ridge of high pressure builds over the Rocky Mountain region on Friday, temperatures will soar into the upper 80s to near 90 degrees in the Denver metro area. That's about 15 degrees warmer than normal going into Memorial Day weekend.

The ridge of high pressure will also promote very dry air across the region meaning a low chance for moisture in the state through at least Friday night. And fortantnly, the recent rain and snow in along with generally light winds on Thursday and Friday means fire danger should remain relatively low compared to a couple weeks ago.

A chance for late day thunderstorms will enter the forecast by Sunday and the chance appears somewhat better for Monday and Tuesday next week. At this time, the chance for afternoon showers and thunderstorms on Memorial Day in the metro area is 40%.