High fire danger Monday – windy and warm

(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — An incoming storm system will bring a variety of weather to the region over the next few days. Ahead of the system, our atmosphere will prime itself by bringing windy and dry conditions to the area.

The combination of windy and dry weather usually leads to elevated fire concerns, and this time around will be no different. Almost everyone in Southern Colorado will be under a red flag warning heading into Monday, April, 15.

Breezy conditions will greet us Monday morning, and then much windier conditions move in for the afternoon. Gusts of 40+ mph will be possible through the region.

Coupled with those windy conditions will be an extremely dry atmosphere. Some models are hinting at relative humidity values falling below 5% for Monday afternoon. The Arkansas River Valley will be particularly dry.

Strong southerly winds will also help pull in some very warm air.

Temperatures will generally be in the 70s and 80s across the eastern plains. Lamar in particular may reach the upper 80s with strong enough southwesterly winds. The higher terrain will enjoy temperatures in the 50s and 60s.

On the back side of the low-pressure system, we will still have to deal with some very breezy conditions.

Gusts of 40+ mph will be possible late Monday night into early Tuesday morning. By the afternoon, busts will still be in the 35 – 40 mph range.

There is also a slight chance that this system may bring us a raindrop or snowflake at the lower elevations too. Timing would be from late Monday into Tuesday. The mountains have a much better chance of seeing some precipitation as the freezing level will be quite high.

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