Category: Fire Weather (Page 1 of 38)

September 2026 Weather Review: Extreme Drought Rolls On Alongside Boulder’s 16th Consecutive Warmer Than Normal Month

October 7, 2026 / / 0 Comments

September 2026 will be remembered as the month that put an exclamation point on an extraordinary water year of heat and dryness in Boulder, with less than 20% of normal precipitation falling during the month and temperatures more than five degrees above average. Despite a strong late-season monsoon, moisture largely avoided the Front Range, and especially Boulder County, culminating with a great modeling collapse of a significant rain event in the final days of the month tied to the remnants of Hurricane Polo.

Here’s a graphical look at how September 2026 unfolded across Boulder, Denver, and the Front Range — and how it compared to climatology.

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Hydrologic Failure — How Every Season Conspired to Produce Boulder’s Driest Water Year on Record

October 6, 2026 / / 0 Comments

Boulder just endured its driest water year on record, closing out twelve months with only 10.65 inches of precipitation — barely half of normal and nearly at desert-level. From a failed snow season to record spring warmth and a monsoon that largely bypassed the city, every season conspired to keep Boulder locked in a warm‑and‑dry feedback loop. Reservoirs and upstream snow storage will cushion the blow for now, but the bigger question looms: what happens if we start stringing years like this together?

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Boulder County Rolls Back Fire Restrictions as Extreme Drought Persists

September 11, 2026 /

Boulder County just rolled back its fire restrictions—right as we close the book on one of the hottest, driest, most fuel‑parching summers in recent history. The county says “improved conditions” justify easing the bans, yet rainfall has been almost impossible to come by within county limits, Extreme Drought now blankets 84% of the county, and fuel moisture is objectively worse today than when restrictions were last ramped up back in late June. It begs a very reasonable question: what exactly has improved? We break down the data behind the decision and examine why Boulder County’s fire environment remains primed as we step closer to autumn—historically one of our area’s most volatile fire seasons in recent years.

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A Monsoon in Name Only: Inside One of Colorado’s Hottest, Driest Summers on Record

September 2, 2026 /

Summer 2026 is beginning to wrap-up, but before we close the books on one of Colorado’s most punishing warm‑season patterns in recent memory, we’re taking you through the full story — from the record‑warm, snow‑starved winter that set the stage, to the monsoon that never quite cohered leaving fuels critically dry statewide, to the heat dome that kept both day and night historically warm.

Read on as we break down why Boulder’s rainfall never materialized this summer, why Denver fared only marginally better, how nearly 250,000 acres burned statewide, and why half of Colorado is now in Extreme or Exceptional Drought. This summer has certainly been one for the record books, in more than one way.

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This Week in Colorado Weather: August 24, 2026

August 24, 2026 /

A stubborn late‑summer pattern is locked in across the Front Range this week. While it won’t bring major shifts, it will deliver subtle day‑to‑day changes worth watching. A strong subtropical ridge keeps monsoonal moisture just high enough for daily storm chances, yet still too disorganized to produce reliable rainfall — a theme all summer. With shifting flow aloft, a mid‑week cold front and moisture bump, and a gradual drying trend late in the week, there’s plenty to unpack, from renewed severe potential to evolving flash‑flood risks and ongoing drought concerns. Read on as we break down the key ingredients driving this persistent — and likely still underperforming — monsoon pattern.

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July 2026 Graphical Weather Review: In Some Respects, Boulder’s All-Time Hottest Month on Record

August 6, 2026 /

July 2026 along the Front Range was relentlessly hot, dry, and devoid of storms, dominated by stubborn upper‑level ridging that fueled long, punishing heatwaves and pushed Denver and Boulder into one of their hottest months on record. Occasional pulses of monsoonal moisture did break through, producing slow‑moving thunderstorms and localized flash flooding near vulnerable burn scars, while wildfire smoke from the West periodically dimmed skies and degraded air quality early in the month. With meaningful rainfall largely absent, Colorado’s severe drought deepened, cementing a July defined far more by heat and haze than by the usual rhythm of afternoon thunderstorms.

Here’s a graphical look at how July 2026 unfolded across Boulder, Denver, and the Front Range — and how it compared to climatology.

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This Week in Colorado Weather: August 3, 2026

August 3, 2026 /

A blistering heat wave will end with one of the more dynamic forecast days we’ve seen all summer. From potentially record‑setting triple‑digit heat to a late‑day cold front, gusty virga showers, and a thick wall of wildfire smoke set to drop into the Front Range tonight, Monday packs an unusually busy mix of weather hazards and changes. We’ll walk you through the timing, the impacts, and the brief but welcome multi-day cooldown ahead — plus why the heat dome isn’t done with us yet. We also look ahead to when the monsoon could return.

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