Near-record heat will roast central and eastern Colorado between Tuesday and Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Denver temperatures are forecast to fall between one and five degrees below the city’s record high each day this week, according to the weather service.
The city will come closest to tying record temperatures on Thursday, when the forecasted 98 degrees is only one degree below the city’s current record for Aug. 7. That record of 99 degrees was set in 1980, according to the weather service.
Temperatures will peak in the high 90s each day until Saturday, when they’re expected to fall back down into the 80s as storms return to the metro area, according to weather service forecasters.
Fire danger in the mountains and foothills
“Critical fire weather conditions will be possible over the mountains and high valleys Tuesday as winds increase in a hot and dry airmass,” forecasters stated in a hazardous weather outlook. “That hot and dry airmass will remain over the area through most of this week.”
Parts of Jackson, Larimer, Grand, Boulder, Gilpin, Clear Creek, Summit and Park counties will be under a red flag warning from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Gusty winds up to 35 mph, humidity as low as 8% and temperatures in the mid-70s and mid-80s will be “favorable for rapid fire spread,” forecasters said in the warning.
The main fire danger threat will be Tuesday, according to the weather service. No additional red flag warnings have been scheduled this week.
Triple-digit temperatures across Eastern Plains
Communities across eastern Colorado will see triple-digit temperatures and near-record heat this week, according to the weather service.
La Junta, Lamar, Pueblo, Sterling, Fort Morgan and Springfield are all forecast to see four straight days of 100-degree temperatures and hotter, forecasters said.
Thursday will be the warmest day of the week across Colorado.
Forecasters said La Junta can expect some of the hottest temperatures in the state each day this week, starting with a 103-degree high on Tuesday and peaking at 105 degrees on Thursday.
Lamar, Pueblo, Sterling, Fort Morgan and Springfield will all see temperature highs between 100 degrees and 104 degrees from Tuesday to Friday, forecasters said.
Sterling could tie the current Aug. 5 record of 100 degrees on Tuesday, and is forecast to break its Aug. 8 record of 102 degrees on Thursday, according to the weather service.
Pueblo is on track to tie its record high of 102 degrees for Aug. 5 on Tuesday, but will fall just short of record temperatures the rest of the week, forecasters said.
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