Denver and the Plains will gradually cool down through Friday following Monday's high of 97°F, which was the hottest temperature of the year so far but did not set a record for the date. Through Monday, Denver is still within the top 20 coldest year-to-date and summer-to-date years on record.

We did set some records across the state Monday.

Although there is still some hot weather today – Grand Junction likely headed to another record, Denver and the Northern Front Range cool off a bit with a slight increase in our rain chances.

With rain chances the next few days, especially Thursday, we have some cooler temperatures to go along.

Let's turn to today's storm chances, albeit much lower than we will have in the days ahead.

Across the state, the highest chance for storms is smack dab in the center.

Here's a timeline of the storms as they develop over the mountains and move east this afternoon and evening.

In terms of severity, here's today's outlook which shows the environment is not likely to lead to severe storms here in Colorado, but east of us has a more dangerous setup.

We'll touch on the upcoming better chances of rain in our next update. For now, look for that slightly cool off today, and look forward to a more notable cool-off over the next couple of days.

It's about that time of the year where we see the monsoon kicking in. Where is it?

2023 North American Monsoon forecast update

As we head deeper into July we thought it time to give an update on the progress of the monsoon. If you’ve been frequenting the site, you know that we not only expected the monsoon to be a late arrival, but also a diminished one. So far, there has not been any real monsoon signal. The graphic below …

Brian BledsoeJul 05, 2023Weather5280

And, that monsoonal outlook is driven in part by El Niño which we have expanded to cover the outlook into next winter.

Winter 2023-24 outlook: What have the strongest El Niños delivered?

Obviously, it’s way too early to create a specific winter forecast, but as we sit in the heat, there is value in looking at where this current Niño sits, its forecast, and how that forecast can be compared to past years. Let’s have that discussion - video: For additional reading about El Niño and …

Matt MakensJul 14, 2023Weather5280

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