High fire danger threatens California, snowstorms to hit Colorado and New Mexico

The hottest place in the country Tuesday was Anaheim, California, where temperatures rose to a scorching 103 degrees. Even Death Valley, at a cool 96 degrees, was not as hot.

Among the records yesterday in Southern California: Camarillo reached 99 degrees and San Diego Brown Field Airport his 97 degrees. Downtown Los Angeles didn't hit a record, but at a scorching 97 degrees, it was still very hot.

Wednesday will be another hot day in Southern California, with highs in the 90s again. But the winds will remain light.

This morning and today will see gusty winds in Northern California, near the San Francisco Bay area.

A red flag warning has been issued for today into Thursday for a large part of the state of California, from Redding all the way down to the Mexican border.

The highest winds for Southern California, called Santa Ana winds, will begin on Thursday and last into Friday. They'll bring very low humidity and more hot weather to Los Angeles and San Diego.

The National Weather Service is warning residents that this wind event could rival the Saddleridge Fire from October 10-11, and that an extreme red flag warning could be issued for Thursday.

In the meantime, winter storm watches and warning have already been issued for this evening into Thursday morning, from Colorado to New Mexico, where some areas could see up to a foot of fresh October snow.

Even Denver could see a month's worth of snow in this one snowstorm, as their October normal snowfall is about 4.2” and that's what's being forecast for the city tonight.

Some of the white stuff could even cover the Texas Panhandle on Thursday, where Amarillo could see 1-2” of snow.