Denver weather: Red flag fire danger warning for high wind, dry ground

A third day in a row of summer-like heat with temperatures reaching 79 degrees and wind gusting at speeds up to 45 miles per hour, buffeting dry ground, is expected to create critical fire weather Thursday.

The National Weather Service has issued a red flag fire danger warning covering metro Denver, Colorado Springs, and Colorado’s Front Range mountain foothills and extending eastward across the high plains to the border with Kansas.

The humidity in eastern Colorado was expected to measure as low as 10%.

Cooler and wetter weather likely will develop on Friday, weather service forecasters said, with the high temperature in metro Denver around 51 degrees. Light snow in the mountains and rain on the high plains is expected. But, on Thursday, meteorologists and local governments were advising residents to avoid outdoor burning and any activities that create sparks.

Denver temperatures hitting 85 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday broke records, according to the weather service. Eight days ago, a low temperature in Denver measured at 11 degrees set a record for cold weather. Climatologists say wide swings of this sort are becoming more common as the planet warms.

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