Western Colorado Weather: Late-August Heat Wave Shifts Toward Weekend Monsoon Shift

Colorado isn't quite finished turning the thermostat up.

Temperatures will continue warming this week, with highs running five to 10 degrees above normal. The good news is that triple-digit heat should stay mostly confined to the Four Corners and lower desert valleys.

Meanwhile, a weak front is bringing a few more showers and thunderstorms to the mountains Tuesday and Wednesday.

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A Few More Colorado Mountain Storms

The National Weather Service is reporting that a system is moving southeast through the area, bringing increased clouds and shower chances to Utah and Colorado on Tuesday before shifting toward the Continental Divide on Wednesday.

Don't expect another big soaking event. The bigger concerns will be frequent lightning and gusty, unpredictable outflow winds.

Even away from the storms, afternoon winds could gust to 20 to 25 mph.

Then Comes the Heat Back to Colorado

Once that little disturbance moves through, high pressure settles back in around the Four Corners.

Meaning mostly dry conditions and another round of above-normal temperatures through the end of the week.

The hottest temperatures will remain focused farther south, with the Grand Valley avoiding the worst of the triple-digit stuff for now.

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Monsoon Season Might Have One More Act

Here's where things get interesting.

A trough moving toward the West Coast late this week should push the high-pressure ridge east and potentially open the door for moisture-rich southerly and southwesterly flow.

Forecasts are starting to show a return of the monsoonal pattern by the weekend, which could mean more clouds, showers, and thunderstorms across eastern Utah and western Colorado.

There's still plenty of disagreement about exactly how much moisture makes it this far north, so we're not breaking out the rain gauge just yet.

Colorado Sees a Little Relief by the Weekend

If the moisture does arrive, temperatures should finally ease back toward normal.

So the week looks like a familiar Western Colorado weather sandwich: a few mountain storms, a whole lot of sunshine and heat, and then maybe, just maybe, another taste of the monsoon by the weekend.