National Weather Service Forecast Discussion

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590
FXUS65 KBOU 241737
AFDBOU

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
1137 AM MDT Tue Mar 24 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Record heat expected for today and Wednesday across much of the
  forecast area.

- Elevated to critical fire weather conditions, mainly on
  Wednesday.

- A cooldown on Friday, then warming back up above normal for the
  weekend.

&&

.DISCUSSION /Through Monday/...
Issued at 1100 PM MDT Mon Mar 23 2026

Another period of record heat is expected tomorrow and Wednesday,
with a cool down by Friday.

Currently, scattered light snow showers over the high mountains
continue to decrease.  Little to no accumulations are expected.

Upper level ridging will build again over the southwestern United
States.  The forecast area will have fairly weak northwesterly flow
aloft on tomorrow and tomorrow night with zonal flow Wednesday
and Wednesday night. This ridging will bring temperatures back up
to record levels with highs in the upper 70s to mid 80s over the
plains tomorrow, and mid to upper 80s on Wednesday. Again,
Denver`s all-time record high temperature for March, 86 degrees,
could be broken. Elevated to critical fire weather conditions will
also return, especially on Wednesday with afternoon humidities
dropping into the 9-14 percent range over the plains. Will refrain
from a Red Flag Watch as winds are expected to be pretty weak at
that time.

On Thursday, weak upper troughing is still expected to push across
Colorado.  This will bring in a cold front, and upslope winds as
well as limited low level moisture.  The result will be 10-40% pops,
mostly in the mountains Thursday afternoon and night. Thursday`s
highs over the plains will get into the 70s before the front makes a
difference.  The plains may have Stratus in place on Friday with
high temperatures in the 50s.

For the weekend, upper ridging dominates with dry conditions and
temperatures well above normal again.  There may be a couple weak
disturbance moving through the upper ridge on Monday and Tuesday.
This will bring the possibility of limited precipitation.
Temperatures look to stay above seasonal normals early next week.

&&

.AVIATION /18Z TAFS through 18Z Wednesday/...
Issued at 1131 AM MDT Tue Mar 24 2026

VFR conditions expected through the TAF period. Winds are
currently transitioning to northwest for all terminals (BJC is
holding on to SSW for the next hour). Expect northwest winds to
continue for the next hour, generally between 9-13 kts. Early
evening, there will likely be a period of light and VRB winds as
they turn clockwise to drainage by late evening. For tomorrow,
drainage winds should hang on through the late morning before
transitioning to some sort of westerly component. In the late
afternoon/early evening, virga showers are possible for all
terminals. While confidence is low on any precipitation making it
to the ground, there is about a 30% chance of gusty outflows from
any showers that develop. Have introduced a PROB30 for that
reason, with gusts up to 30-35 kts. Best timeframe for these
outflows will be between 22Z and 02Z.

&&

.BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
None.

&&

$$

DISCUSSION...66
AVIATION...MAI

NWS BOU Office Area Forecast Discussion