Cooler temperatures but stormy weather is ahead for the metro region after nearly two weeks of hot, dry conditions that capped off with rain, hail and thunderstorms on the Fourth of July.
Several Front Range rivers and streams were running faster and deeper than normal because of Sunday’s deluge, that saw as much as 2 inches of rain and hail on the near-Eastern Plains.
The South Platte River at Fort Lupton, Cherry Creek near Franktown and Fountain Creek north of Pueblo, for example, were each flowing at more than three times their normal pace for the date, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The National Weather Service expects a high of 87 degrees Tuesday, but temperatures could reach only 71 in Denver Wednesday and 78 Thursday, before returning to the 80s for the weekend.
There is a chance of showers and thunderstorms each day through next Tuesday, forecasters said.
So far this month Denver has received more precipitation, 2.02 inches, than it received in all of June, 1.6 inches, according to National Weather Service data.
June’s rainfall total at the regional monitoring station at Denver International Airport, however, is slightly above the norm, 1.56 inches.
