Elbert/Central and East Douglas Counties Above 6000 Feet

... Red flag warning remains in effect from noon today to 8 PM MDT
through this evening for wind and low relative humidity for the
Palmer Divide area...

... Fire Weather Watch in effect from Friday
afternoon through Friday evening for wind and low relative
humidity for Park County and the Palmer Divide...

The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Fire Weather
Watch for wind and low relative humidity... which is in effect
from Friday afternoon through Friday evening.

* Affected area... fire weather zones 214 and 241.

* Timing... critical fire weather conditions will develop this
afternoon as fuels continue to dry and winds increase. Critical
fire weather conditions are again possible on Friday afternoon.

* Winds... southwest 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph.

* Relative humidity... as low as 7 percent.

* Impacts... the gusty winds and very low relative humidity may
cause rapid fire growth or extreme fire behavior of any
existing or new fires.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now... or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds... low relative humidity... and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.

A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions
are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible
red flag warnings.

... Today in Metro Denver weather history...

19-21 in 1875... smoke from several large Forest fires in the
        mountains was visible from the city on each of these days.
20 in 1888... northwest winds were sustained to 44 mph.
      In 1956... a microburst caused a brief wind gust to 58 mph at
        Stapleton Airport.
      In 1964... hail up to 1 inch in diameter was reported 1 mile
        north of Stapleton International Airport. A 3 minute hail
        storm at both Stapleton International Airport and Lowry
        field piled small hail to one half inch deep.
      In 1967... a strong thunderstorm dumped 1.95 inches of rain in
        less than an hour at Stapleton International Airport and
        produced a wind gust to 54 mph. The storm caused some
        flooding in east Denver and Aurora. There was widespread
        flooding to streets... basements... and store buildings and
        automobiles. Hail stones to 3/4 inch in diameter were
        measured at Buckley field in Aurora. A tornado touched
        down just south of Littleton... damaging a barn and killing
        several head of cattle.
      In 1985... a wind gust to 61 mph was reported at Golden Gate
        Canyon in the foothills west of Denver.
      In 1986... a man was killed by lightning at Highlands Ranch
        south of Denver.
      In 1987... several tornadoes were sighted across Metro
        Denver. A tornado touched down briefly 5 miles west of
        Parker. A tornado was sighted just north of Chatfield
        Reservoir. A tornado just northwest of Watkins was on the
        ground for 15 minutes. A tornado near Barr Lake was taped
        by a television news crew. It had a double vortex and was
        on the ground for about 10 minutes. In addition to the 4
        tornadoes... severe thunderstorms dumped large hail across
        Metro Denver. One inch hail was reported in southeast
        aurora; 3/4 inch hail fell at the Denver technology
        center... Buckley field... and Franktown.
      In 1992... several short-lived tornadoes occurred in the
        vicinity of Barr Lake. No injuries or damages were
        reported. A water spout was sighted over the southern end
        of Barr Lake. Funnel clouds were also sighted on the
        grounds of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal by National Weather
        Service observers at Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1994... hail up to dime size covered I-25 south of Denver
        and near Sedalia. Heavy rain caused local flooding on the
        Interstate Highway.
      In 1996... strong thunderstorm winds downed several large tree
        limbs in Boulder on the University of Colorado Campus. A
        stop light in the city was also blown down.
      In 1999... lightning sparked an oil tank fire near Brighton.
      In 2001... large hail driven by strong thunderstorm winds raked
        Denver international and Front Range airports. Wind gusting
        to 54 mph along with hail as large 2 inches in diameter
        punched at least 14 thousand holes and cracks in the flat
        roofs of several buildings at Denver International Airport.
        In addition... 93 planes and hundreds of cars were damaged.
        About 100 flights had to be cancelled... stranding 1500
        travelers. The Airport was completely shut down for about
        20 minutes. The storm also damaged a ground avoidance radar
        used to track planes on the ground to prevent collisions.
        Damage was estimated at 10 million dollars... not counting the
        damage to the 93 airliners. The storm moved south and
        struck Watkins with hail as large as 2 1/2 inches in
        diameter and winds gusting to 60 mph. A least 30 private
        planes at Front Range Airport were destroyed. The radome
        protecting the National Weather Service Doppler radar... which
        was tracking the storm... also sustained damage. The large
        hail... damaging winds... and heavy rain pummeled a Mobile Home
        Park near Watkins. In the park... 52 Mobile homes... 14
        recreational vehicles... 3 homes... and a commercial building
        were damaged. Siding was riddled with holes and windows
        were broken. Vehicles sustained extensive damage and car
        windows were shattered. A handful of people were treated
        for minor cuts and bruises. The strong winds also flipped
        a tractor trailer along I-70 near Watkins. The storm caused
        power outages... which affected about 1200 residents.
        Excluding the damage at Denver International Airport... damage
        estimates totaled 49 million dollars... making the storm the
        costliest in the last 3 years and the 10th costliest since
        1984. A small tornado touched down just east of Brighton...
        but did no damage. Hail as large as 2 inches in diameter
        fell near Fort Lupton with 3/4 inch hail measured in
        Bennett. Precipitation from the storm totaled only 0.23
        inch at Denver International Airport.
      In 2002... heavy rain fell near the Hayman wildfire burn area.
        Flash flooding washed out a 40-foot section of the access
        Road to cheeseman Reservoir. Some debris was washed against
        a gate... blocking the Road. Hail to 1 1/2 inches in diameter
        fell near Central City with 3/4 inch hail near Blackhawk.
      In 2003... hail as large as 1 inch in diameter fell near Bennett
        and Strasburg with 3/4 inch hail measured in Denver... Golden...
        at Centennial Airport... and near Parker. Hail as large as
        7/8 inch was reported in Arvada.
      In 2004... a severe thunderstorm produced hail to 3/4 inch in
        diameter in and near Brighton.
      In 2005... severe thunderstorms produced large hail near the
        Palmer Divide. Hail to 1 inch in diameter was measured
        near Larkspur with 7/8 inch hail near Sedalia and 3/4 inch
        hail in Greenland. An apparent thunderstorm outflow produced
        a wind gust to 59 mph at Denver International Airport during
        the evening hours.
      In 2010... lightning struck a home in centenniel and sparked a
        fire which caused extensive damage.
20-21 in 1897... high winds raked the city overnight. Southeast winds
        were sustained to 60 mph with gusts as high as 72 mph on the
        20th. Southeast winds were sustained to 57 mph with gusts
        to 60 mph on the 21st.
       In 2007... a brief hot spell produced two temperature records.
        The high temperature of 97 degrees was tied on the 20th.
        A new record high temperature of 99 degrees was established
        on the 21st.