Warm temperatures, dry conditions and breezy winds have created extreme fire danger in Denver on Tuesday, meteorologists said.

The National Weather Service in Boulder has issued a Red Flag Warning for Denver, the Interstate 25 corridor, the Front Range foothills and the adjacent plains from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday.

The weather service said to expect temperatures to top out around 70 degrees at Denver International Airport on Tuesday. That’s about 22 degrees warmer than the average high for Feb. 24 in Denver, according to weather service archive data.

Breezy winds of 15 to 20 mph are expected Tuesday afternoon in Denver with gusts up to 31 mph, forecasters said.

“Channels of stronger winds are possible where winds could gust to 45 mph (in the Red Flag Warning area),” the weather service said.

Meteorologists warn that elevated fire danger could persist Wednesday through Friday as well, due to relative low humidity of 10 to 15%, critically dry fuels across the state and gusty winds up to 45 mph.

A High Wind Warning was issued for the Front Range mountains and foothills on Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. where winds of 35 to 50 mph were expected and gusts up to 80 mph.

Out at Denver International Airport, 26 flights were delayed and another 21 were canceled Tuesday, as of 9 a.m.

Snow was expected to return to Colorado’s high country on Tuesday as well, with a Winter Storm Warning going into effect Tuesday at 8 p.m. through midnight Wednesday night for the Park Range, including Rabbit Ears Pass. That area could see 8 to 16 inches of new snow with wind gusts up to 50 mph.

A Winter Weather Advisory was issued for the Front Range Mountains and Mosquito Range beginning at 8 p.m. Tuesday and running through midnight Wednesday night. Meteorologists said 5 to 10 inches of new snow could fall there, with isolated areas seeing as much as 14 inches. Winds in the area could hit 65 mph gusts.

“Strong winds across the high country will create low visibilities at times,” the weather service said.

Tonight in Denver, the temperature is only expected to drop to 41 degrees, the weather service said. Expect a high near 70 in Denver on Wednesday with strong winds gusting to 44 mph.

A slight chance of snow moves into the Denver weather forecast late Wednesday night and into Thursday.