Western Colorado Weather: High Heat and Fire Weather Warnings Replace Monsoon Rains

Remember when we were keeping an eye on thunderstorms, flash flooding and soggy burn scars?

Yeah, well, that weather is mostly moving out. Western Colorado is about to slam the door on the moisture and crank up the heat.

Friday Gets One More Shot

Friday should be mostly quiet, although the mountains aren't quite ready to give up the ghost.

A few isolated afternoon showers and thunderstorms could pop up, especially along the Divide. They're expected to stay pretty isolated, so most of us won't have to rearrange the afternoon around another round of storms.

After that, the atmosphere starts drying out in a hurry.

The Heat Is About to Get Serious

High pressure is building west from New Mexico into the Desert Southwest, and it's planning to stick around for a while.

Temperatures will climb from about 5 degrees above normal Friday to 10 to 15 degrees above normal by early next week.

Heat advisories and warnings are already in place for some of the lower valleys, and this isn't looking like a one-day deal.

Read More: ICYMI: Red Mountain Pass Closed: Mudslides & Evacuations Near Ouray

And Now We've Got Fire Weather

Because apparently summer couldn't just pick one problem.

The combination of hot temperatures, very dry air and afternoon winds will push relative humidity down into the low to mid-teens. Some areas could see wind gusts around 25 mph, creating localized critical fire weather conditions.

So we're trading "watch out for the flash flood" for "please don't accidentally start a wildfire." Western Colorado in late July doesn't believe in boring weather.

A Little Relief in the Mountains

There will still be enough moisture sneaking underneath the high pressure to produce a few mountain showers and thunderstorms through the weekend.

By early next week, those storms should become more scattered, particularly in the southern mountains. For the valleys, though, the forecast is pretty straightforward: hot, dry and increasingly unpleasant during the afternoon.

If you're going outside, drink plenty of water, find some shade and try to avoid the hottest part of the day, roughly 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The monsoon may be taking a break, but summer apparently just found the thermostat.