Summer Heat Is Arriving With A Windy Twist

Western Colorado is heading into a stretch of hot, dry, and occasionally windy weather, with temperatures climbing back above normal and humidity dropping into the basement.

The good news? A few mountain thunderstorms are still hanging around. The bad news? They may create more wind than rain.

Fire Weather Concerns Return

Monday brings the biggest concern of the week.

Areas across the West Slope, especially southwest Colorado, will see very dry air with relative humidity falling into the single digits during the afternoon. Add in some breezy conditions, and you've got pockets of critical fire weather conditions.

Officials aren't issuing widespread fire weather alerts just yet, but conditions will be close in some locations.

In other words, it's a good time to be smart with anything that can throw sparks.

Warming Trend Continues

Temperatures will run near to slightly above normal on Monday, then continue climbing through the week.

By Tuesday and beyond, many locations will be sitting five to 10 degrees above average, with some areas pushing even warmer by next weekend.

Summer is definitely starting to show up.

Mountain Storms Stick Around

Not everyone stays completely dry.

A little moisture remains in the atmosphere, which should be enough to trigger isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms over the mountains through at least midweek.

The best chances look to be along the Continental Divide and the eastern Uintas.

Most lower elevations will stay dry, but anyone spending time in the high country should keep an eye on the sky during the afternoon hours.

The overall pattern stays warm and mostly dry through the week.

By the weekend, another weather system may approach, bringing stronger winds and potentially expanding fire weather concerns across the region.

For now, the forecast is pretty simple: warm afternoons, isolated mountain storms, and a growing reminder that summer in western Colorado is right around the corner.