National Weather Service Forecast Discussion

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207
FXUS65 KBOU 151129
AFDBOU

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO
429 AM MST Mon Dec 15 2025

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Warm and dry through Tuesday, with breezy conditions tonight
  into Tuesday for the foothills and mountains.

- Remaining warm Wednesday with strong winds expected west of
  I-25, and light mountain snowfall later in the day. Near-
  critical fire weather conditions possible near the base of the
  foothills.

- Strong winds will be more widespread Wednesday night and Friday,
  impacting lower elevations. Friday may see critical fire weather
  conditions across portions of the plains and urban corridor.

- This weekend: Mild and dry for the lower elevations, which snow
  potentially returning to the mountains.

&&

.SHORT TERM /Through Monday/...
Issued at 213 PM MST Sun Dec 14 2025

Upper level ridging over Colorado flattens during the day Monday as
northwest flow aloft begins to increase. For tonight, west winds in
the higher foothills and Front Range Mountains increase, with gusts
to 40 mph possible. Elsewhere, we are looking at relatively light
winds. Temperatures in the mountain valleys and lower lying areas
across the plains will be cooler spots, with lows in the teens and
lower 20s. On Monday, it will be mild again with temperatures well
above normal. High across northeast Colorado will reach the upper
50s to mid 60s. Cross sections show some high level moisture, mainly
during the morning, with decreasing high clouds during the
afternoon. Expect for those typical breezy locations in the
foothills and mountains, light winds will prevail Monday.

&&

.LONG TERM /Monday night through Sunday/...
Issued at 213 PM MST Sun Dec 14 2025

The flow aloft will become more WNW on Tue with cross-sections
showing only some mid and higher level moisture embedded in the
flow. With downslope flow over the area, highs will remain well
above normal with a few record highs possible at lower
elevations.

On Wed, an upper level trough will move across the area late in the
aftn thru Wed night.  Cross-sections show increasing moisture in the
mtns by Wed evening with favorable orographic flow.  In addition, a
rather stg upper level jet will move into the area which may lead to
some heavier banded snowfall in some mtn areas.  In addition, it
will be very windy as well. At lower elevations, downslope low level
flow will remain in place thru the aftn, with dry conditions
along with another day of record highs possible around the Denver
area. Meanwhile, a bora type front will move across nern CO by
late aftn into the evening hours. As a result, may see strong
winds develop across portions of the foothills and plains as this
feature moves across.

For Thu into Thu night, the flow aloft will continue WNW with some
moisture embedded in the flow. May see orographic light snow
continue in the nrn mtns mainly Thu aftn and night. At lower
elevations it will be dry and windy with highs dropping back to
more seasonal levels.

Looking ahead to Fri, the flow aloft will become more westerly.
This will lead to dry conditions along with warmer temperatures as
downslope flow redevelops. By Sat, another fast moving system may
affect the area bringing a chc of snow to the mtns with another
round of wind at lower elevations.

&&

.AVIATION /12Z TAFS through 12Z Tuesday/...
Issued at 414 AM MST Mon Dec 15 2025

VFR conditions will prevail for all terminals through the TAF
period. A weak Denver cyclone is expected to develop again this
afternoon near Denver proper, favoring SE winds for KDEN before a
return to drainage flow this evening.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 414 AM MST Mon Dec 15 2025

Elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions will be in place
in the foothills through tonight, with elevated fire weather
conditions across the Cheyenne Ridge Tuesday.

Stronger winds on Wednesday will lead to near-critical fire
weather conditions for the lower foothills and adjacent urban
corridor, mainly west of I-25, despite some moderation in
humidity.

Potential for critical fire weather conditions will return to
portions of the lower elevations on Friday with the arrival of
warmer, drier and continued breezy conditions.

&&

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

&&

$$

SHORT TERM.....12
LONG TERM......RPK
AVIATION...BRQ
FIRE WEATHER...BRQ

NWS BOU Office Area Forecast Discussion