Hot, dry and hazy weather is going to settle in across Colorado.
Smoke from wildfires burning in California will move east into Colorado Thursday and Friday. We’ll see mostly sunny skies early on, with more haze as smoke by the afternoon. Keep the windows closed and try to limit your time outdoors as air quality will be poor.
Along with the hazy, smoky sunshine, Thursday will bring all the ingredients for high fire danger. Temperatures will soar near record levels in the low- to mid-90s along with fierce southwesterly winds. Gusts will be up to 40 to 50 mph along the eastern side of Colorado throughout the afternoon. It will be incredibly dry as humidity values will be as low as 12%.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect for much of the state from noon until 8 p.m.
We’ll see a break from the 90s on Friday as a dry cold front sweeps in across northeastern Colorado. We’ll see calmer and cooler conditions, with highs in the low- to mid-80s to round out the week.
Sunshine will dominate over the next couple of days, with a return of those afternoon thunderstorms starting Sunday.