Matt Makens

The overall trend of warmer than average days with scattered storminess is to
continue with a couple of outliers during the next week. 

This weekend will be warmer than average (average is mostly middle 70s) but we
will see an uptick in the number of thunderstorms and therefore rainfall for
later Saturday into Sunday. The hourly planner for Denver shows storm chances in
the 30 and 40% range this weekend: 

With those storms, we'll see areas of decent precipitation across the state to
end the month, though as is always the case with scattered thunderstorms ––
it'll take a bit of luck to end up under a storm vs coming out of the weekend
dry: 

QPF Through SundayA closer look shows some nice coverage for the high country.
Some storms forecast for the urban corridor as well, with the Palmer Divide
showing some of the better storm potential across Eastern CO: 

QPF Through SundayThis increase in the storm chances will keep temperatures in
the middle 80s for the Denver area, but Western Colorado and the Eastern Plains
will likely be much warmer for both Saturday and Sunday. Here are the forecast
highs for Saturday across the state: 

Saturday NDFD Forecast Highs MapAnd for Sunday: 

Sunday NDFD Forecast Highs MapThe warmth of the weekend turns hot by Monday and
Tuesday for many across the state. Temperatures will be 10 to 20 degrees warmer
than average for most.

Tuesday's NDFD Forecast Highs MapThe eastern plains, namely the southeastern
corner of the state, may hit 100 degrees in a few spots for the first time this
year. 

This level of heat is close to record territory but for now looks to be close
and just shy of setting records, but we'll see how the heat pans out as we get
closer.

WPC Potential Record Highs for MondayOf course, this weekend is the end of May
and that means we only have the weekend rain chance to get us above average in
the precipitation column for the month. 

May Precipitation AnomalyIn the map above, the vast majority of Colorado is
drier than average this May. Much of Colorado is below 50% of average
precipitation for the month, the drought grows, and the long term forecast
remains drier than average. 

We'll post more on the May recap and how it continues to fit our long-range
forecasts in a future post.

Weekend outlook, plus some heat for early next week