Marty’s Saturday Morning Forecast – Isolated Showers/Storms Possible – 5/16/2020
Overview: We’re tracking warmer air and wind for much of the next week. Occasionally some weak waves and low-level moisture may support isolated thunderstorms, but we do not expect widespread, heavy rainfall over the next week.
Today: Partly cloudy and breezy again today with high temperatures reaching the 60s and 70s for most areas.A weak cold front and some low-level moisture may support isolated showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, primarily over and near the mountains and along the Raton Mesa. Severe weather doesn’t seem likely for most areas today, but bursts of heavy rain, gusty wind, small hail and frequent lightning are possible with any stronger cells that can develop, particularly south of the Arkansas River. We expect storm coverages to remain pretty low at about 10% to 20% of the areas previously mentioned.
Tonight: Any evening showers and/or thunderstorms should end by midnight for most areas. Patchy low clouds may develop along the eastern slopes of the mountains along I-25, and possibly over parts of eastern Colorado very late, but many areas should remain just partly cloudy. Low temperatures will fall into the 40s to lower 50s for most areas, but the high mountain valleys may dip into the 30s.
Sunday: Any patchy low clouds in the morning will give way to a partly cloudy sky for most areas for much of the day. We’ll get breezy again with very spotty showers/thunderstorms possible over and near the mountains late. High temperatures might be a few degrees warmer than Saturday with a mixture of 70s to lower 80s for the plains; 60s to lower 70s for our local mountain communities.
Extended: Monday through Wednesday look very warm and windy with high temperatures in the 80s and 90s for the plains with mostly 70s for the mountains. An upper-level wave could bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to the area during the afternoon and evening hours, but the warmth, wind, and generally dry air near the surface suggests that fire weather may be our primary concern. Thursday and Friday look breezy and a little cooler, but right now our chances for rain don’t look very good.
