Forecast for the week: hot start, cooler with better rain chances Wed-Sat

07/28/25 8:40am: Morning, its Monday. We have some weather to talk about. After a hot start to the week (especially today), models show a series of cold-fronts impacting parts of CO and the front-range Tue/Wed combined with some monsoon moisture moving in from the south and a couple short-waves aloft.

These features will bring much better rain chances to parts of the north-central mountains, and especially the front-range mountains / foothills and parts of the Den/Bou urban corridor from Wed afternoon through Sat afternoon. Even prior to this a better chance for storms tomorrow afternoon behind an initial cold front.

There will also be some wildfire smoke over western CO at times from the surrounding wildfires (but it will remain pretty dry over western CO).

Here are some main points

• For Den/Bou and the front-range today: hot with high temps near 100 again. A few high-based isolated storms expected from 5pm-10pm (most areas won't get much rain)

• For today: best rain chances will be south and east of Hoosier Pass: south-central to southeast CO: 3pm-10pm. For the heart of the north-central mountains, not much rain today (spotty, better chances south)

• An initial cool front moves into northern CO and down the front-range tomorrow morning (that will cool high temps back down to upper 80s tomorrow)

• For tomorrow a better chance for thunderstorms and rain showers across parts of the central mountains, especially in the San Juans to Collegiate Range to areas closer to Summit / Grand counties and the Front Range mountains: 12pm-7pm (best coverage from Summit Co east)

• For Den/Bou and the front-range tomorrow: best storm chances will be around the edges and where the initial front stalls out, just south of Denver along the Palmer Divide (PD and foothills have best chances): 1pm-8pm. More isolated coverage for Den/Bou tomorrow but maybe a few storms (best chances from Denver south)

• Then a secondary, stronger cold-front will move down the front-range on Wed morning: Much cooler weather expected, especially over eastern CO (from the Divide east) Wed-Fri this week with high temps in the 70s

• Starting Wed afternoon much better chances for heavier / stronger thunderstorms along the front-range, especially in the front-range foothills from 3pm-9pm (some heavy rain in parts of the foothills)

• For the north-central mountains, better rain chances from Summit Co east on Wed: 2pm-8pm, and again on Thu and Fri

• Continued cool on the front-range Thu, Fri and maybe into Sat with good rain chances east of the Cont. Divide

• Unfortunately for western CO not much impact from these cold-fronts and moisture as the convergence will be east, so pretty dry west of Avon through the week.... but some storms near Vail: Tue-Sat.

  
  

First image loop shows forecast radar over the next 48hrs (6am this morning through 6am Wed) from latest HRRR model. Second image shows the 2m Temperature Anomaly valid at 6pm Wed from latest GFS (much cooler over eastern CO). Images 3 and 4 compare forecast total liquid precip from now through 6am Sat from latest GFS and ECMWF models, take with big grain of salt but you can see the focus for heaviest rain this week will be in the Front Range mountains and foothills.