Flash Flood Threat To Rise As Monsoon Moisture Moves In
By Chris Spears
DENVER (CBS4) - After several days of hot, dry weather we're starting to see signs of the annual monsoon moving into Colorado, which is simply a seasonal shift in the wind pattern.
The reason we associate a monsoon with wet weather is because that wind shift brings increased levels of moisture into the state which helps to fuel afternoon showers and thunderstorms that produce locally heavy rain.
Because upper-level winds are weak over Colorado in the mid-summer thunderstorms tend to move slowly, and can drop extremely heavy amounts of rain over a short period of time.
We've already seen a few storms create localized flash flooding and that threat will be on the rise over the next few days.
Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.