Rating:

0.0 (0 votes)

TUCSON - The Sonoran wind machine cranks up today, bringing an elevated fire danger and high pollen counts.

A powerful cold front serves as the trigger to a blustery Monday, according to News 4 Meteorologist Jeff Beamish. With southwest winds gusting to 50 MPH, the National Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory and Red Flag Warning from 11 AM until 8 PM. This includes the Tucson metro, Nogales, Sierra Vista, Douglas, Benson, Safford and surrounding communities.

Any wildfires that develop will spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended.

Today's winds may also create areas of blowing dust, especially along the I-10 north of Marana and east of Willcox. Exercise caution if you are traveling to these areas later this afternoon.

Monday's Sneeze Meter will register at 9.7, which is in the high category. Pollen-makers juniper, poplar and ash combining with dust spells out a rough afternoon for allergy sufferers.

Expect partly cloudy skies today with highs in the mid 70's. A slight chance of a shower exists overnight, amounting to very little in the rain bucket.

Much cooler temps slide in behind the front tomorrow. High temps will struggle to reach 60, with lows overnight Tuesday dropping near freezing in the metro. Freezing temps look likely in the outskirts of Tucson proper.

Typical late February/early March weather wins the rest of the week, with mid 70's back in the fold by the weekend.

For a complete look at Jeff's True View 4 extended forecast, visit KVOA.com/weather.