Weather Alerts for Colorado

Recent Locations: Portland, OR Mesa, AZ Aurora, CO

Current Alerts for Aurora, CO: Fire Weather Watch Red Flag Warning

1. Avalanche Warning for: Elkhead and Park Mountains; West Jackson and West Grand Counties Above 9000 Feet; South and East Jackson/Larimer/North and Northeast Grand/Northwest Boulder Counties Above 9000 Feet

2. Fire Weather Watch for: Fremont County Including Canon City/Howard/Texas Creek

3. Fire Weather Watch for: Larimer County Below 6000 Feet/Northwest Weld County; Boulder And Jefferson Counties Below 6000 Feet/West Broomfield County; North Douglas County Below 6000 Feet/Denver/West Adams and Arapahoe Counties/East Broomfield County; Northeast Weld County; Central and South Weld County; Morgan County; Central and East Adams and Arapahoe Counties; North and Northeast Elbert County Below 6000 Feet/North Lincoln County; Logan County; Washington County; Sedgwick County; Phillips County

4. Fire Weather Watch for: Pueblo County Including Pueblo; Huerfano County Including Walsenburg; Western Las Animas County Including Trinidad and Thatcher

5. Red Flag Warning for: Cheyenne; Sherman; Hitchcock; Red Willow

6. Red Flag Warning for: Crowley County Including Ordway

7. Red Flag Warning for: Elbert/Central and East Douglas Counties Above 6000 Feet; Southeast Elbert County Below 6000 Feet/South Lincoln County

8. Red Flag Warning for: Kit Carson County; Cheyenne; Dundy

9. Red Flag Warning for: Larimer County Below 6000 Feet/Northwest Weld County; Boulder And Jefferson Counties Below 6000 Feet/West Broomfield County; North Douglas County Below 6000 Feet/Denver/West Adams and Arapahoe Counties/East Broomfield County; Northeast Weld County; Central and South Weld County; Morgan County; Central and East Adams and Arapahoe Counties; North and Northeast Elbert County Below 6000 Feet/North Lincoln County; Logan County; Washington County; Sedgwick County; Phillips County

10. Red Flag Warning for: Northern El Paso County Including Monument and Black Forest; Southern El Paso County Including Fort Carson and Colorado Springs; Otero County Including La Junta and Western Comanche Grasslands; Eastern Las Animas County Including Pinon Canyon

11. Red Flag Warning for: Pueblo County Including Pueblo; Huerfano County Including Walsenburg; Western Las Animas County Including Trinidad and Thatcher

12. Red Flag Warning for: Yuma

13. Winter Storm Warning for: Elkhead and Park Mountains

14. Winter Storm Warning for: South and East Jackson/Larimer/North and Northeast Grand/Northwest Boulder Counties Above 9000 Feet

15. Winter Storm Warning for: West Jackson and West Grand Counties Above 9000 Feet

16. Winter Weather Advisory for: Gore and Elk Mountains/Central Mountain Valleys; Flat Tops

17. Winter Weather Advisory for: South and Southeast Grand/West Central and Southwest Boulder/Gilpin/Clear Creek/Summit/North and West Park Counties Above 9000 Feet

18. Winter Weather Advisory for: Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Ft; Eastern Sawatch Mountains above 11000 Ft

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Current U.S. National Radar--Current

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National Weather Forecast--Current

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National Weather Forecast for Tomorrow

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North America Water Vapor (Moisture)

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Weather Topic: What is Rain?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Rain

Rain Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Precipitation in the form of water droplets is called rain. Rain generally has a tendency to fall with less intensity over a greater period of time, and when rainfall is more severe it is usually less sustained.

Rain is the most common form of precipitation and happens with greater frequency depending on the season and regional influences. Cities have been shown to have an observable effect on rainfall, due to an effect called the urban heat island. Compared to upwind, monthly rainfall between twenty and forty miles downwind of cities is 30% greater.

Next Topic: Shelf Clouds

Weather Topic: What is Sleet?

Home - Education - Precipitation - Sleet

Sleet Next Topic: Snow

Sleet is a form of precipitation in which small ice pellets are the primary components. These ice pellets are smaller and more translucent than hailstones, and harder than graupel. Sleet is caused by specific atmospheric conditions and therefore typically doesn't last for extended periods of time.

The condition which leads to sleet formation requires a warmer body of air to be wedged in between two sub-freezing bodies of air. When snow falls through a warmer layer of air it melts, and as it falls through the next sub-freezing body of air it freezes again, forming ice pellets known as sleet. In some cases, water droplets don't have time to freeze before reaching the surface and the result is freezing rain.

Next Topic: Snow