A cold front pushed across Nederland and the northern Front Range Foothills on Thursday bringing cooler temperatures and scattered showers and thunderstorms. Temperature rose to a balmy 82 F by noon and then dropped 20 degrees in the next 3 hours. As expected, precipitation with this front was light and spotty, at least in the foothills communities.
A reinforcing shot of cold air will push into northern Colorado late tonight and Friday morning. I expect an upslope fog to develop in Nederland after 4 am followed by a period of light rain and drizzle through mid morning. A piece of energy in the mid-levels of the atmosphere called a “shortwave trough” will zip across Wyoming in the early morning hours helping to enhance the cloud cover and light rain. Temperatures will be in the 40-45 F degree range warming to near 52 F by the afternoon when some sunshine should break through the clouds.
Overall, the weekend looks superb with gradually moderating temperatures. There is a chance of a few afternoon showers on Saturday and even a better chance on Sunday afternoon as the atmosphere destabilizes, but any storms which form over the foothills will quickly be blown onto the Eastern Plains by strong mid and upper level steering winds. This means that they will be short-lived and should not spoil an otherwise pleasant and cool weekend. Winds will be predominantly from the east below 10000 feet each day helping to lower temperatures. Here’s to a great weekend in the greatest town on Earth!