Limon, CO

... Red flag warning remains in effect from 10 am this morning to
7 PM MDT this evening for wind and low relative humidity for the
eastern Colorado plains...

* affected area... fire weather zones 246... 247... 248... 249...
250 and 251.

* Timing... winds will increase late Wednesday morning.

* Winds... south 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 35 mph.

* Relative humidity... as low as 14 percent.

* Thunderstorms... isolated thunderstorms will develop. Must of these
storms will produce gusty outflow winds and only light rainfall.

* Impacts... the strong winds and low humidity will allow rapid
spread of any grassland wildfire.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring or imminent. Please advise the appropriate
officials and fire crews in the field of this red flag warning.

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

14-18 in 1996... a period of unusually warm weather resulted in
        4 record maximum temperatures in 5 days. The record high
        temperatures were 87 degrees on the 14th... 89 degrees on
        the 15th... and 93 degrees on both the 16th and 18th. The
        temperature climbed to only 81 degrees on the 17th which
        was not a record.
15-16 in 1957... heavy snowfall totaled 8.8 inches at Stapleton
        Airport. The greatest amount on the ground was 3 inches.
      In 1986... a Spring storm dumped 1 to 2 inches of rain over
        Metro Denver... but 2.71 inches fell at Buckley field in
        Aurora. Rainfall only totaled 0.84 inch at Stapleton
        International Airport. Snow fell in the foothills with
        7 inches recorded in Coal Creek Canyon southwest of
        Boulder.
16 in 1875... a heavy hail storm turned into heavy rain during
        the afternoon. Rainfall totaled 0.86 inch in just 37
        minutes... while the temperature dropped 22 degrees in
        22 minutes. Precipitation totaled 0.90 inch.
      In 1894... west winds were sustained to 48 mph with gusts
        to 56 mph.
      In 1949... a tornado was observed for 16 minutes... 20 miles to
        the southeast of Stapleton Airport. The tornado moved 5
        miles to the northeast before dissipating. No damage was
        reported.
      In 1963... intense lightning started several Forest fires in
        the foothills southwest of Denver near Deckers and
        cheeseman Lake. Little precipitation fell from the storms
        to alleviate the unusual dry conditions so early in the
        season.
      In 1978... thunderstorm winds caused damage in southeast
        Aurora. Winds of 60 to 80 mph blew down numerous fences and
        damaged several homes under construction. High winds tore
        docks loose at Cherry Creek Reservoir... sinking 3 or 4 boats
        and damaging about 15 others. At Stapleton International
        Airport where winds gusted to 60 mph... a 727 jet suffered
        15 hundred dollars damage when wind toppled a runway light
        onto it. The public reported an unconfirmed tornado 7 miles
        south-southwest of Stapleton International Airport.
      In 1990... a line of thunderstorms moving across Metro Denver
        uprooted a large ash tree... which fell and blocked the
        outside doors to a Denver Elementary School... briefly
        trapping the students inside. Thunderstorm wind gusts to
        69 mph were reported at Jefferson County Airport.
        Northwest winds gusted to 44 mph at Stapleton International
        Airport.
      In 1991... two tornadoes touched down briefly in Castle Rock...
        but no injuries or damage were recorded. Heavy
        thunderstorm rains of 0.50 to 1.10 inches in a couple of
        hours caused Lena Gulch near Golden to flood. No damage
        was reported.
      In 1996... dry microburst winds of unknown strength overturned
        a trailer and damaged storage sheds in Strasburg east of
        Denver.
16-17 in 1981... a heavy rain storm dumped 1 to 2 1/2 inches of rain
        across Metro Denver. Rainfall totaled 1.27 inches at
        Stapleton International Airport where north winds gusted
        to 38 mph on 17th.
      In 1983... a very strong late Spring storm dumped heavy snow
        over the Front Range. Strong winds with the storm produced
        blizzard conditions at times. Sustained winds were 20 to
        40 mph with a peak gust to 55 mph at Stapleton International
        Airport. The foothills received 1 to 2 feet of snow
        with 4 to 12 inches along the foothills. Howling winds
        whipped the snow into drifts several feet deep... closing
        schools and highways. Stapleton International Airport was
        forced to reduce flight operations... closing 2 of 4 runways
        and stranding hundreds of travelers. Most of the damage
        and inconvenience caused by the storm was in power outages...
        which occurred when wind and heavy wet snow caused hundreds
        of power poles to snap and topple. About 20 square miles
        of Denver were blacked out. Precipitation from the storm
        totaled 1 to 3 inches. At Stapleton International Airport...
        snowfall totaled 7.1 inches with a maximum snow depth on
        the ground of only 2 inches due to melting. The high
        temperature of 40 degrees on the 17th was a record low
        maximum for the date. Due to the heavy moisture content
        of the storm... widespread street flooding occurred on the
        18th when much of the snow melted under the warm may sun
        and temperatures climbed to a high of 57 degrees.
      In 1995... significant moisture and upslope flow caused
        flooding across Metro Denver. Moderate to heavy rains...
        which began on the evening of the 16th... developed in the
        foothills and spread eastward over Metro Denver throughout
        the night. The heavy rains brought many creeks and small
        streams to bankfull or slightly over. Locations along the
        foothills received between 3 and 4 inches of rainfall from
        the storm. Boulder received 3.60 inches of rainfall for
        the 24-hour period... causing minor street flooding near
        small streams. To the northwest of Boulder... a bridge which
        crossed Fourmile creek was washed out. Numerous rock and
        mudslides occurred in foothills canyons... closing portions
        of U.S. Highways 6 and 40 and State Highway 119 for a few
        hours at a time. Rocks were piled 6 feet deep on a stretch
        of State Highway 119 along with boulders as large as cars on
        U.S. Highway 6. A parking lot near a creek in Golden caved
        in leaving a hole the size of an 18-Wheeler. Rushing water
        washed out a 50-foot stretch of a Road in Westminster.
        Rainfall totaled 1.75 inches at Denver International
        Airport... but only 1.42 inches at the site of the former
        Stapleton International Airport.