The winds have really picked up along the Front Range and that's making for extremely high fire danger this afternoon as we track a fire moving through Boulder county. We've seen hurricane force winds this afternoon, with gusts over 75 mph.
The mountains are continuing to see some impressive snow! The snowpack has improved dramatically in the past week and there's more on the way. Denver and the eastern plains will stay dry, sunny, and breezy today but we're in for a change on Friday.
In Denver, only 3/10 of an inch of snow has fallen so far this season. By the end of December, Denver averages around 20 inches of snow.
Snow will be increasing in the mountains, but the weather will stay dry across the metro area and eastern plains for the next 24 hours. Temperatures will warm up a little with highs in the 40s to low 50s over eastern Colorado and upper 20s to low 30s in the mountains.
This next storm will usher in some chilly weather on Friday, with snow developing and turning heavier across the Denver metro area by Friday afternoon. We could see around 3 to 5 inches of snow in Denver by early Saturday, with much colder weather for the first of the year. Heavier snow will fall on the west side of town and foothills.
A winter storm watch goes into effect tonight for the northern Front Range mountains and foothills. Around 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible by early Saturday morning.
Highs will be in the 30s on Friday and drop into the 20s on New Year's Day. Lows will tumble into the single digits by Sunday morning.
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