2020 has been quite a year. Several months ago, I was hopeful that monsoon moisture was going to kick in and bring at least portions of Colorado some moisture. Turns out, this one in the top 3 DRIEST monsoons ever. Great.
That has led to expanding drought and wildfires galore this year. Here’s a look at the current drought map for Colroado.
100% of the state is abnormally dry
100% of the state is under a moderate drought
97.2% of the state is under severe drought
57.2% of the state is under extreme drought
16.7% of the state is under exceptional drought
The last time we had appreciable precipitation here in denver (>0.10″) was back on September 8 during the snowstorm. As it looks, another blast of wintry weather may break of streak of dryness this coming weekend
Forecast
The devil is in the details as usual. Until Saturday evening – we will remain dry and breezy at times. A few bouts of cool to cold air will bring windy conditions to the area. Starting today (Tuesday). A mountain wave – look up…you’ll see it…will keep our temperatures in the Denver Metro near to where they are now. Mid to upper -60s are expected.
Wednesday will be more sunny and highs will rise into the low 70s for much of the area. I’m going to say enjoy this because things are going to change quite a bit come Saturday night.
Thursday will be breezy as we have a cold front that will move through. Timing is unclear at the moment but regardless, windy conditions will be with us through the day and eventually, a BIG drop in temperatures. Right now, we have a forecast high of 63 on Thursday – I don’t know if I buy that. I’m thinking we’ll top out in the 50s. 10-20 mph winds. Thursday night – COLD. Will drop into the low 20s for Denver!
Friday will be a cold day. Highs will struggle to make it into the 40s so prepare for a brisk Friday. No precipitation is expected through Friday although a few sprinkles are not out of the questions when the cold front comes through.
Saturday, our winds shift and we see a big warm up. Highs should jump back into the 60s and it should be mainly sunny. ENJOY THIS.
A powerful front moves through Saturday night.
Snow Incoming
Sunday looks to be a rather snowy day. And a very cold day too. Early predictions are looking to be in the 3-5″ range but with some melting and the higher sun angle we have now we may end up with a nice coating on everything but the roads. With that said, temperatures will be cold so the snow could definitely stick. The mountains are looking at 6-12″ of snow and there will be road problems up there.
Monday things will dry out but it will still remain very cold. Highs will only be in the 20s to near 30 if were lucky. We also could see our first single digit temperatures of the season Monday morning. So needless to say. It’s going to jump straight to winter here soon.
This is all actually good news for the fires. This *should* be a fire extinguishing event for all of the fires. Fires don’t like cold or snow and we have a decent bout of both on the way. Enjoy the nice weather while we have it!
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