Hot ahead of a cooler and potentially wet weekend

Get ready for a hot end to the work week across Colorado as temperatures climb well into the 80s and 90s statewide. Some of the lower elevations, including Denver, will be close to 100 degrees, especially on Friday. 

We will see some showers and thunderstorms pop up this afternoon in the mountains. They'll be most numerous south of Interstate 70. A few could try and drift out of the foothills and into the Denver metro area but that chance is only at 20 percent.

In addition to the hot weather another headline today will be the air quality. In fact, Denver and the Front Range Urban Corridor will see some issues with air quality over the next few days. CDPHE has issued an alert for elevated levels of ozone through at least 4 p.m. today but that could be extended into the day on Friday.

This weekend some cooler air will work into Colorado along with a surge of monsoon moisture. Saturday looks like it will bring a good chance for widespread showers and storms, some with locally heavy rain. Flash flooding will once again be a big concern, especially in and near recent burn scars.