Smoke from nearby wildfires will fill Colorado skies Monday and Tuesday as near-record temperatures continue, according to the National Weather Service.
Patchy smoke from wildfires in Wyoming and Idaho will move into Colorado on Monday, NWS forecasters said. As of 6:45 a.m. Monday, the worst air quality conditions were in western Colorado, near Grand Junction.
Near the Grand Junction Airport and Redlands, AirNow air sensors recorded AQIs between 102 and 146 on Monday morning.
The AQI measuring system reports daily levels of air pollution. Generally, AQIs of 101 to 150 indicate air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups.
“When AQI values are above 100, air quality is considered to be unhealthy, at first for members of populations at greatest risk of a health effect, then for the entire population as AQI values get higher (greater than 150),” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, no air quality alert had been issued for the Denver area, despite waves of wildfire smoke in the forecast.
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Denver will see sunny, smoky weather Monday with a high near 82 degrees — just under the Oct. 7 record of 87 degrees set in 1934 — according to NWS data.
On Tuesday, smoke will continue to hover around Denver and temperatures will reach 82 degrees again, just three degrees under the Oct. 8 record of 85 degrees set in 2020, NWS forecasters said. Smoke is expected to clear out of the Denver area Tuesday night.
Near-record heat is forecast for the metro through Saturday, according to NWS forecasters. Temperature highs are expected to drop into the more “fall-like” low 70s on Sunday.
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