DENVER — Hot and dry weather will hold over Colorado for the next several days with very little rainfall. Highs in Denver and across the eastern plains will be around 10 degrees above average in the low to mid 90s. Lows will drop into the mid 50s to around 60 degrees.
In the mountains, highs will be in the middle 70s to lower 80s with nighttime lows in the upper 30s to mid-40s.
Only isolated late-day thunderstorms are possible, mainly over the far eastern plains.
One of those isolated thunderstorms hit Monday afternoon and dropped a tornado north of Firestone that moved toward Platteville. The tornado was on the ground from just after 5 p.m. until around 5:45 p.m. The National Weather Service has determined maximum winds at just under 100 mph from that tornado.
PHOTOS | Viewer images of the Weld County tornado
Temperatures will drop a little in western Colorado Thursday, as a weak cold front moves into the state. Denver and the eastern plains will stay hot on Thursday, but cool by 5-10 degrees on Friday. This front will bring little, if any rain.
Warmer weather will quickly return over the weekend into early next week, with only a slight chance for thunderstorms Sunday and Monday.
It is a good thing our spring has been so wet over the eastern half of the state — drought conditions have pretty much ended for now. Western Colorado has not been as lucky and remains very dry.
At Denver International Airport, the total precipitation since Jan. 1 is over 10 inches — more than an inch above what we saw in all of 2020 — and that's about 5 inches above normal for the year to date.
The latest index shows drought-free conditions from Denver to Cheyenne and across northeast Colorado. Southeastern Colorado has also improved with nearly drought-free conditions around Pueblo. Western and central Colorado still need a lot of moisture to break free of the drought.
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