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360 FXUS65 KBOU 162121 CCA AFDBOU Area Forecast Discussion...corrected typos National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 320 PM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Light alpine snow showers, producing a few inches of accumulation for the higher elevations into Tuesday morning. - Significant warm are dry period ahead from Tuesday into the weekend. All-time new March record high temperatures a good bet for the plains Thursday, Friday and Saturday. - Hot and dry weather will sustain prolonged high fire danger for the plains on Tuesday and Wednesday, then across much of the forecast area Thursday through Saturday. && .DISCUSSION /Through Monday/... Issued at 145 PM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026 We have just the rest of today and tonight for some normal-ish March weather before excessive heat and dryness return. Currently, there is some light to moderate snow falling in the mountains. This looks to be the case through the rest of this afternoon and tonight, ending Tuesday morning. With the snow ending in the mountains on Tuesday, that will be it for any precipitation for the entire CWA through the week and the upcoming weekend. Will also let the high wind warning for the mountains of Summit County, the Mosquito Range, and the Indian Peaks expire at 2 PM MDT this afternoon. Models have a strong northerly jet maximum, up to 140 knots over the CWA tonight. By Tuesday, the flow aloft is northwesterly with a 595 dam high over the southwestern United States. This feature pushes slowly eastward with upper ridging over Colorado through Saturday. The flow aloft stays pretty strong through Thursday, then weakens for Friday and Saturday. This all means abnormally high temperatures for our forecast area Tuesday through Saturday. Record heat is expected especially for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It looks like Denver could set new all-time March high temperatures any of those days. Denver`s record high reading for March is 84 degrees. It was set back on March 26, 1971. The dryness and heat will make elevated and extreme fire weather conditions all weak on into the weekend. For the later days, Friday through Monday, the upper ridge center pushes a bit south into Mexico and weakens. The flow aloft over the CWA becomes more zonal with a weak trough to move across early Sunday. This may allow a cooler airmass to move into the CWA for Sunday. Temperatures may cool to around 70 degrees for highs on Sunday in Denver, still around 15 degrees above normal, but cooler then Saturday`s mid 80s which are about 30 degrees above normal. They may be some minor alpine showers for late day Monday. && .AVIATION /18Z TAFS through 18Z Tuesday/... Issued at 1140 AM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026 Winds are around 7kts or less at all the airports late this morning. Winds should start to pick up at KBJC from the NW over the next couple of hours, occasionally gusting around 21kts this afternoon. Winds at KDEN and KAPA are a bit more complicated. Models vary on if the stronger NW winds will mix down to the surface this afternoon in these areas. Looking at soundings near KDEN, there`s still an inversion that would have to erode in order for the winds to mix down here, which is possible as the sun comes out. There`s also the complication of winds draining off the snow covered Palmer into Denver, potentially keeping wind more S/SE. Right now, we`re keeping winds more to the NE this afternoon at KDEN, but there is potential for winds to shift either SE or NW. Winds this evening and overnight will go more towards drainage, before picking back up from the WNW by late tomorrow morning. KBJC could start blowing as early as the early to mid morning, but confidence is higher in gusty winds starting around 16Z. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 145 PM MDT Mon Mar 16 2026 We went with a Red Flag Warning for the northern and eastern border zones Tuesday afternoon where the expected winds look strong enough and the grass fuels are very dry. Minimum relative humidity values will be in the 5-12 percent range across the plains every afternoon Wednesday through Saturday. Critical fire weather conditions are expected over the plains Wednesday through Saturday. The critical fire weather conditions get into the mountains and high valleys as well Thursday through Saturday. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until 2 PM MDT this afternoon for COZ034. Red Flag Warning from 10 AM to 8 PM MDT Tuesday for COZ238-242- 244-248>251. && $$ DISCUSSION...66 AVIATION...AP FIRE WEATHER...66