More record heat in Denver, but drought continues to improve, with storms forecast next week

DENVER — Drought conditions improved in Colorado’s mountains and parts of the metro area and Palmer Divide over the last week and could see more improvement with rain and thunderstorms forecast for early next week.

Denver set another record high Thursday of 98 degrees, breaking the record of 97 set in 2020. And though the hot weather is expected to continue in the metro area and on the plains into the weekend, current forecasts are predicting cooler temperatures and rain on and off from Sunday afternoon into Tuesday.

Parts of central Denver, the Thornton and Broomfield areas, and some areas of the foothills saw more than an inch of rain over the past week, while most of the metro area saw at least one-quarter of an inch of precipitation.

That was enough for the stretch of I-25 from Larimer County down to El Paso County, the foothills, and the mountains along the Continental Divide to make one-level improvements in terms of their drought, according to this week's U.S. Drought Monitor report release Thursday.

US Drought Monitor

The I-25 corridor moved from severe drought to moderate drought, the metro-area foothills moved to abnormally dry, and the mountains from Park County north to the Wyoming border are now drought-free.

Most of the central part of the state is either abnormally dry or drought-free, as is a large swatch of southeastern Colorado. Most of the Western Slope and northeastern plains are experiencing moderate or severe drought.

The far southwestern corner of the state, as well as the far northeastern corner, are both seeing extreme drought. And eastern Sedgwick and Phillips counties in far northeastern Colorado are experiencing exceptional drought.

The record high of 98 on Thursday marked the 11th time so far this year Denver has matched or broken its record high for the day.

July was the fifth-warmest in 128 years of recordkeeping in Colorado, according to the Colorado Climate Center, but also the 18^th wettest – with southern and southeastern Colorado receiving above-average precipitation.

But over the past four weeks, the only areas of the state that have seen drought worsen are the areas just east of the Denver metro area and Sedgwick and Phillips counties. Drought conditions have either stayed the same or improved over the past month in the rest of the state.

US Drought Monitor

In all, 92% of Colorado is abnormally dry or worse; 59% is experiencing moderate or worse drought; 27% is seeing severe or worse drought; 5% is experiencing extreme or worse drought; and 0.6% is seeing exceptional drought conditions. Eight percent of the state is currently drought-free.

Conditions could continue to improve if the current forecasts hold. As of Thursday afternoon, Denver7 and National Weather Service meteorologists are predicting highs in the metro area and plains in the mid-to-upper 90s on Friday and Saturday.

But on Sunday, monsoon moisture is expected to move into western Colorado and expand across the state Monday. The NWS in Boulder said that moisture could produce heavy rain totaling more than an inch, thunderstorms, and flooding. The thunderstorm threat will last into Tuesday, although heavy rain might not be as widespread, the NWS said.

Cooler temperatures – the low 80s for highs and low 60s for lows – should accompany the moisture through next week in the Denver metro area, according to Thursday forecasts.

You can always get the latest conditions and forecasts from the Denver7 weather team on the free Denver7+ streaming app.