Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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231 FXUS65 KBOU 111759 AFDBOU Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 1059 AM MST Tue Nov 11 2025 .KEY MESSAGES... - Dry conditions and above normal temperatures are expected across the forecast area through Friday. - A few hours of elevated to spotty critical fire weather conditions over the plains and I-25 Corridor today. - An upper trough is expected to move across the forecast area Saturday and Sunday with a chance of precipitation for most areas. && .DISCUSSION /Through Monday/... Issued at 220 PM MST Mon Nov 10 2025 Water vapor satellite imagery shows high cloud cover increasing as northwest flow aloft advects upper level moisture over the forecast area. Relatively quiet conditions are expected through this evening as an upper level ridge over the southwest United States slowly shifts eastward. Overnight tonight and into Tuesday morning, a shortwave will trek across the Dakotas, turning flow aloft more westerly over Colorado. Cross-barrier flow of 40-50 kts will bring wind gusts up to 60 mph across the ridgeline of the Front Range mountains. Resulting downslope flow will keep Tuesday morning lows in the 40s along the foothills and adjacent plains, while farther eastern plains and mountains/valleys will see morning temperatures in the high 20s/30s. A weak cold front will cross the plains during the day, bringing northerly wind gusts up to 25 mph. Elevated to briefly critical fire weather conditions are possible, especially in the southeastern plains, where relative humidity values will dip below 15%. Weak ridging will recover from the exiting shortwave on Wednesday. Above normal temperatures are forecasted through Friday, with each day expected to be in the high 60s/low 70s. There is a chance for record breaking temperatures on Thursday (75 set in 1999). Currently, ensemble solutions show a range of 70-73 dg as the maximum temperature. However, if there is stronger cross-barrier flow on Thursday, downslope winds could warm temperatures higher. Ensemble guidance is in good agreement of an upper level trough developing off the west coast and traveling east on Friday and into the weekend. However, there are still disagreements in terms of track and evolution. The deterministic GFS and ECMWF indicate the trough splitting, with one piece of energy trekking across the northern United States, and the other piece traveling across Arizona and New Mexico. This would leave Colorado in between the two disturbances, which would limit widespread precipitation chances across our forecast area. There is higher confidence of light snow showers for our mountains, with minimal accumulations expected. For the plains, precipitation will depend on the track of the upper level trough. Currently, NBM has 20-30% PoPs for the Palmer Divide and plains, which seems reasonable at this time. In terms of temperatures, a cold front will bring temperatures back to their seasonal normals for the weekend, with highs in the 50s for the plains and 30s/40s for the mountains/valleys. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS through 18Z Wednesday/... Issued at 1059 AM MST Tue Nov 11 2025 Gusty W/SW winds from about 250 degrees have been stronger and more persistent so far. However, with continued mixing, those winds will trend more W/NW. Also, potential for anticyclone will mean winds likely shifting more N/NE anywhere from 19Z-23Z. The first push is already manifesting itself just to the northeast of KDEN, with about a 30% chance this makes it`s way totally across the airport 19Z-20Z, and a 50-60% chance it makes it over the northeast portion of the airport. That initial surge could weaken or mix out again through 21Z, but considerable uncertainty there. Therefore, we`ll blend to a more NW component through this period in the TAF, but the potential shift is certainly something to watch in the near term. There is more confidence of a stronger anticyclonic push late in the day, so we`ll forecast NE winds developing 22Z-23Z. Then expect a transition to more SE by 01Z before normal SSW winds develop by 03Z-05Z. Winds on Wednesday will be lighter (<10 kts) and follow more normal diurnal wind patterns. VFR conditons will persist with only SCT- BKN high cirrus. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...MAI AVIATION...20