Severe storms including heavy rain, high winds and large hail are possible along the Front Range Thursday afternoon. A Flash Flood Watch effective until midnight has been issued for Colorado’s high country, forecasters.
Areas particularly vulnerable to flooding will be areas devastated by fire including Fourmile Canyon in Boulder County Mile, the High Park area of Larimer County and Weston Pass, where a 10,000-acre fire is currently burning, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
A Flash Flood Watch is in effect from noon today until midnight. A very moist air mass will be in place across the region with storms producing heavy rain of 0.5 to 1 inch in an hour. Four Mile, High Park & Weston Pass burn areas will be very susceptible to flash flooding.
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
The fire areas could be hit with between a half inch to an inch of rain per hour, the weather service says.
Showers and thunderstorms are also expected in the Denver metro area, mainly after 5 p.m. The chance of precipitation is 60 percent, according to the weather service.
Scattered/Numerous storms. Heavy rain/localized flooding, large hail, & damaging winds possible.
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder)
The rain storms are a mixed blessing to parts of the state where wildfires are burning, said Ben Brack, spokesman for the Spring Creek fire in south central Colorado. The rain could douse existing flames but the lightning could also ignite new fires, he said.
Burned areas where vegetation was destroyed are vulnerable to mud slides and flash floods.
Temperatures will heat up beginning Friday and extending through next Wednesday, rising to 91 degrees on Friday and 97 degrees on Tuesday, the NWS says.
