John LaConte/jlaconte@vaildaily.com
Wildfires are raging across the Northwest, aided by winds of a high pressure system that is bringing the smoke from those fires to Colorado.
The result is hazy skies over Eagle County that are likely to continue for the next few days.
. Wildfires began to spark across the region in the dry and windy days that followed.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Bootleg Fire in Oregon had grown to more than 140,000 acres, an area of about 220 square miles. The Dry Gulch Fire in Oregon in Idaho is more than 50,000 acres, the Robertson Draw Fire on the Wyoming/Montana border is at about 30,000 acres and the MY Complex Fire in Montana
Hazy skies in area not from Colorado fires postindependent.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from postindependent.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Friday was the hottest day in Grand Junctionâs recorded history.
The high of 107 degrees bested the previous high, 106, set July 21, 2005, according to the weather service.
Fortunately, highs are expected to drop a little, but will still be in the low 100s over the weekend with a high of 103 expected today and a high of 102 expected Sunday.
According to meteorologist Dennis Phillips, temperatures wonât go back to near normal until the middle of next week.
âThen itâll just be a little above normal instead of a lot above normal,â Phillips said.
The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for western Colorado and eastern Utah, including Grand Junction, until 8 p.m. Friday.
Due to rising temperatures, the Yampa River is very shallow below Oakton Ditch. (Photo by Scott Hummer.)
Steamboat Springs has already broken multiple heat records this year, but another might have been broken Friday with a record high of 94 degrees recorded at Steamboat Springs Airport.
“It’s going to be very close,” said Mike Weissbluth, Steamboat-based meteorologist and operator of snowalarm.com
.
Routt County should expect high temperatures to continue over the weekend and at into next week, Weissbluth said, with temperatures increasing about 3 degrees each day from Sunday to Tuesday.
A storm churning in the Gulf of Alaska, however, will eject several waves early and late in the week, which will likely bring moisture and cooler temperatures to Routt County, Weissbluth said. That moisture may include rain Wednesday through Friday, but Weissbluth said it is too soon to offer a confident prediction.
What was that mushroom cloud formation seen from Vail on Monday evening? vaildaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from vaildaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.