Denver is under a red flag warning Monday morning and strong winds expected throughout the day will rapidly grow any fire activity, National Weather Service forecasters said.
Central Colorado, including Denver, and the Eastern Plains are each under a High Wind Warning until Monday afternoon.
One alert covers Larimer, Boulder, Jefferson, Broomfield, Douglas, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe and Elbert counties and expires at 2 p.m. Monday. The second covers Weld, Morgan and Logan counties in the Eastern Plains and expires at 5 p.m. Monday.
Constant winds of 20 to 25 mph will blow across the central and eastern state, with stronger wind gusts up to 60 mph expected, according to the alerts.
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and a few power outages may result,” forecasters said in the warning. “Blowing dust will reduce visibility to less than a quarter mile in places. Strong winds will likely lead to rapid fire growth of any new fire.”
Denver will also remain under a fire weather Red Flag Warning until 5 p.m. Friday, forecasters said.
That warning covers Jefferson, Douglas, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Park, Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Elbert and Lincoln counties below 6,000 feet.
The combination of high winds and low humidity means any fires that start Monday will spread rapidly, forecasters said in the warning. A single spark could cause a widespread wildfire.
Windy conditions will continue in Denver and the surrounding area through New Year’s Day, according to forecasters.
Up in the mountains, snow and wind will continue through at least mid-day Monday, creating difficult travel and white-out conditions, according to a NWS Hazardous Weather Alert.
Mountain road conditions are expected to gradually improve this afternoon and evening, forecasters said in the alert.
Scattered, light snow will return to the mountains Tuesday and stronger snow will start late Wednesday, forecasters said.
The weekend will bring a better chance for snow across the state, including the metro area and Eastern Plains, but any accumulations will be light, according to the alert.
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