Showers expected this week pose a risk of flash flooding across the metro area as slow-moving thunderstorms deluge landscapes hardened by weeks of hot, dry weather.
“If it rains very hard at all, it’s not going to soak into the ground,” said Jim Kalina, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder. “It’s going to run off fast and create some problems.”
The metro area was under a flash-flood warning Monday from noon until midnight. There is a 40 percent chance of thunderstorms today.
Rising water caused the Denver Fire Department to shut down light-rail service at West 10th Avenue and Osage Street for about 20 minutes Monday afternoon.
Officials were concerned that rushing water might derail a railcar or cause one to stall, said Lt. Phil Champagne, Fire Department spokesman.
Light flooding Sunday closed portions of roadways across the metro area. All of them reopened as waters receded.
The National Weather Service expects temperatures in the lower 80s today.
Forecasters are predicting a 30 percent chance of rain Wednesday with temperatures in the upper 70s.
The risk of showers falls to 20 percent Thursday with temperatures in the 80s. Temperatures will return to the 90s on Friday as the skies dry out.
Colorado’s rainy season seems to be arriving a week ahead of schedule because of warmer-than-normal temperatures in June, said weather-service meteorologist Mike Baker.
The monsoon season usually begins around July 8 and extends into August, he said.
