Denver Weather: Hottest weekend of the summer so far

Another round of showers and thunderstorms on Thursday will keep temperatures in the 80s along the Front Range. Then as drier weather arrives on Friday, record heat is expected for the weekend.

Not only will the weekend be very hot, it will also be very dry across most of Colorado. There could be a few showers or thunderstorms south of Highway 50 this weekend, but the chance for rain in the Denver metro area and across most of the high county is near zero. Therefore fire danger will also increase.

The hottest day of the weekend will likely be Sunday but the best chance for tying or breaking a record in Denver is on Saturday. The record for Saturday is 98 degrees from July 9, 2021. It's actually one of the "coolest" record high temperatures in July. Most records this month are over 100 degrees including on Sunday where the record is 102 degrees from July 10, 2016.

It will also be quite warm in the mountain with most towns near 9,000 feet reaching at least 80 degrees including Breckenridge, Silverthorne, and Vail. Meanwhile Aspen, Gunnison, and Steamboat Springs could be closer to 90 degrees.

The weather pattern will shift again early next week with temperatures dropping about 10 degrees and a chance for showers and thunderstorms returning by Monday afternoon.