Colorado weather: Storms to bring hail, high wind, lightning, tornado

Storms rolling off the mountains and foothills onto Colorado’s Front Range high plains Wednesday afternoon will bring severe weather including hail, strong winds that can cause damage, lightning, and possible tornadoes, according to the National Weather Service.

The high temperature in metro Denver on Wednesday will be 74 degrees under mostly cloudy skies and a turn to turbulence will begin around 2 p.m., weather service forecasters said. Denver residents in the afternoon likely will see rain showers intensifying Wednesday evening with thunder, hail, and wind gusting at speeds up to 21 miles per hour, forecasters said.

East of Denver across north-central and northeast Colorado, severe hazards are possible Wednesday evening, meteorologists said, anticipating large hail, lightning and a few tornadoes, bringing night wind gusting at speeds up to 60 mph.

Later this week, the high temperatures in Denver are expected to decrease, with a high of 61 degrees on Thursday, forecasters said.

Starting Thursday morning and continuing through next week, the potential for flooding will increase in an area spanning the mountain foothills burn scars where fires have reduced vegetation, the Interstate 25 corridor, and the eastern plains.

Along Colorado’s southern Front Range, a moderate morning Wednesday with sunny blue skies is expected to shift after 11 a.m. to weather that could include potentially damaging thunderstorms, which may arise along the I-25 corridor and spread to the eastern plains. The highest chances for severe weather will be in eastern Colorado close to the border with Kansas, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, dry conditions with humidity as low as 9%, combined with winds gusting at speeds up to 55 mph, have raised the risk of fires. The weather service on Wednesday issued a red flag danger warning of “very critical fire danger” for the valley, advising residents to avoid outdoor burning and activities that could generate sparks.

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