Happy St. Patrick’s Day. The luck of the Irish brought out the sun and the start of a heavy heat wave on Tuesday.

The National Weather Service said to expect a high of 71 in Denver on Tuesday. That’s 14 degrees warmer than the average high for March 17 in Denver, according to weather service archive data. It’s just five degrees off the record high of 76 set in 2012.

The wind is also making a return with speeds picking up to 19 to 24 mph in the afternoon and potential 38 mph gusts according to the National Weather Service.

The northeast corner of the state, including Greeley and Fort Collins, has been given a red flag warning by the National Weather Service due to high winds and low humidity.

“Hot and dry weather will sustain prolonged high fire danger for portions of the plains today and Wednesday, then across much of the forecast area Thursday through Saturday,” said the National Weather Service.

Expect the temperature to drop to 43 tonight and for the wind to continue blowing upwards of 22 mph.

Tuesday is just a ramp-up to record-breaking temperatures forecasted for the remainder of the week. The National Weather Service called it a “good bet” that Colorado’s plains set an all-time record high in temperature for March on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

With the current record sitting around the low 80s, forecasters predict highs of 84-86 degrees heading into the weekend. It would be the warmest March day in history in the Denver area.