The last weekend of June didn’t just sizzle — it erupted. As a powerful early‑summer trough carved into the Great Basin, the Southwest lit up with new fires and thick smoke thanks to some of the most volatile atmospheric conditions we’ve seen this season. Colorado wasn’t spared, either: several fast‑growing fires ignited across the Western Slope and Mountains, sending plumes straight into the Front Range. And with a stubborn dipole pattern locking in place across the nation, the week ahead promises more wind, more dryness, and more smoke — plus a few twists in the forecast you’ll want to keep an eye on. Let’s break down what’s driving this outbreak, what it means for the Boulder–Denver corridor, and when relief may finally arrive.
Category: Climatology (Page 5 of 75)
These posts contain information about the long-term weather patterns of Boulder County. Potential topics may include 30-day weather outlooks, El Nino/La Nina, and seasonal forecasts. You will find less about the day-to-day weather, with more focus on longer trends and patterns.
The atmosphere is gearing up for one of those classic late‑June stretches where Colorado tries to run every weather storyline at once. Several days of unusually strong flow aloft, deepening upslope moisture, and a parade of shortwaves are about to collide over the Front Range. The result will be day after day of severe thunderstorms. Add in waves of incoming wildfire smoke and a potentially high‑end fire danger setup by the weekend, and there’s plenty to unpack in this week’s forecast. Let’s take a closer look.
A western heat dome is gearing up to push the Front Range toward its hottest stretch of the season so far, with downslope winds and fire‑weather concerns building right alongside it. A weak front will try to break the heat later in the week, but largely fail as temperatures rebound into the 90s quickly by Friday and the weekend. As our spring wet season has now come to an end, storm chances remain woefully low throughout the extended leading to further drought intensification statewide.
Warmth, wind, and a few atmospheric curveballs are lining up for the Front Range this week — and it all starts with a sharp swing from severe storms to hot fire danger in less than 24 hours. From Monday’s hail‑ready instability to mid‑week blow‑dryer conditions and a potential cool‑down lurking on the weekend horizon, this week’s forecast has a little bit of everything. Read on as we detail what to watch as this surprisingly active June pattern unfolds across Colorado.
May 2026 delivered a true roller‑coaster pattern along the Front Range. Despite finishing warmer than average, the month was punctuated by two significant chilly precipitation events that funneled a remarkable amount of moisture into Boulder and Larimer Counties. The first arrived as a damaging late‑season snowstorm, wrecking leafed‑out trees across the region, while the second system — fortunately — remained all rain at lower elevations.
Together, these systems provided meaningful drought relief, though the broader hydrological picture across Colorado and the West remains deeply strained. Here’s a graphical look at how May unfolded across Boulder, Denver, and the Front Range — and how it compared to climatology.
Spring’s grip on our wet season is loosening, and the atmosphere is starting to hint at the drier pattern ahead — but not before we squeeze out a few more days of spotty storm potential. This week brings a mix of low‑end daily rain chances, early‑week severe storms, and a slow warm‑up that could push us toward our first 90° reading of the year by the weekend. Read on as we break down what to expect as we ride out this transitional stretch of early June.
A slow‑moving Pacific storm settling in across the West will set the stage for a classic late‑May stretch along the Front Range — warm afternoons, building clouds, and hit‑or‑miss late day showers and thunderstorms. While no day looks like a washout, the pattern does get more interesting mid‑week as deeper moisture sneaks in and storm chances tick upward. We break down what to expect, which day carries the best shot at rain, and how temperatures will swing as the broader system drifts our way.
May has finally snapped the atmosphere out of its months‑long bone dry spell, and the Front Range is making up for lost time fast. A destructive early‑May snow event, followed by a second, well‑timed upslope system just ten days later, has pushed Boulder’s May precipitation total beyond everything we managed to scrape together through fall, winter, and early spring combined. We dig into what triggered the pattern reversal, how much moisture different parts of the region have banked, what this burst of wet weather actually means for our entrenched drought, and whether the upcoming Memorial Day weekend warm‑up signals a slide back toward a more aggressive drying trend.
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