Near perfect weather for Independence Eve, thunderstorms return for Independence Day
Very warm and mostly dry weather will be found across Colorado on Monday including for Denver's annual Independence Eve celebration. Meanwhile, Tuesday's weather will be less cooperative for outdoor activities and CBS News Colorado has declared a First Alert Weather Day for the Fourth of July.
The only exception to the dry forecast on Monday is in the high country where stray late thunderstorms are possible including in Summit County and across the Rocky Mountain National Park region.
Temperatures will also be very warm throughout the state on Monday. Denver could reach at least 90 degrees for just the second time this year.
It will still be quite warm in the Denver metro area when the gates to Civic Center Park open Monday at 5 p.m. for the annual Independence Eve celebration. Temperatures will be more comfortable by the time the Colorado Symphony starts at 8:15 p.m. And the weather should be perfect for fireworks starting around 9:15 p.m. No thunderstorms expected anywhere in the Denver metro area Monday evening which is somewhat rare for early July.
Dry weather will continue through Tuesday morning before thunderstorms make a comeback in the afternoon. The chance for storms along the Front Range is 60-70% and some storms could be strong or severe. Many mountain areas will also experience showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and/or evening on the Fourth of July.
The greatest severe weather concern is hail up to 1.5 inches in diameter. Damaging wind and isolated tornadoes are also possible but less likely than hail.
Temperatures will also be about 10 degrees cooler on Tuesday compared to Monday for Denver and the Front Range. The same will not be true for the Western Slope where it could be even hotter on Tuesday. The heat combined with occasionally gusty wind and very low humidity means fire danger will increase again including in Garfield County where the Spring Creek Fire continues to burn near Parachute. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for these areas on Tuesday from 12 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Cooler weather will eventually reach the Western Slope on Wednesday and the Denver metro area will cool down even more as well with high temperatures in the 60s. A 50% chance for additional thunderstorms will continue along the Front Range and in the mountains on Wednesday before overall drier and warmer weather returns for the end of the week and into next weekend.
