Issue Date: 5/11/2019
Issue Time: 8:53 AM
NO FLOOD THREAT IS FORECAST TODAY.
A surface cool front, driven by a disturbance aloft, will shift southward across eastern Colorado today. This front won’t bring a noticeable dip in temperatures, since our temperatures have been cool the last few days. Instead, this front will make its mark by providing gusty northerly winds and sparking isolated-to-scattered thunderstorms along and east of the Continental Divide as it moves southward across the region. A few thunderstorms will be on the strong side of the scale, producing brief periods of moderate-to-heavy rainfall, strong winds, and hail up to 0.5 inches in diameter. Otherwise, temperatures will be a few degrees warmer than yesterday, with plenty of sunshine before and after any showers/storms move overhead.
West of the Continental Divide, a bit of residual moisture from yesterday’s showers will be enough fuel for a few isolated sunshine-driven showers/weak thunderstorms, mainly over the higher terrain. This activity will drift south/southeast with time, bringing a few isolated showers/weak thunderstorms over adjacent lower elevations. This activity will result in mainly light rain, gusty winds, and occasional lightning. For more information on timing, please see the zone-specific forecast discussions below.
Today’s Flood Threat Map
For more information on today’s flood threat, see the map below. For Zone-Specific forecasts, jump below the map.
Zone-Specific Forecasts
Front Range, Southeast Mountains, Urban Corridor, Northeast Plains, Southeast Plains, Palmer Ridge, and Raton Ridge:
Scattered showers/thunderstorms are expected today as a cool front moves southward across the area. Plenty of sunshine will precede the showers/storms and clearing skies will return afterwards. A couple of the storms will be strong, producing winds up to 60 mph, brief periods of moderate-to-heavy rainfall, hail up to 0.5 inches in diameter, and cloud-to-ground lightning. Rain rates will generally be less than 0.2 inches/hour, but stronger storms over the lower elevations will have maximum rain rates of 0.3-0.6 inches/hour.
Timing: 1 PM – 9 PM for the Front Range, Urban Corridor, and Northeast Plains; 2 PM – 11 PM for the Palmer Ridge, Southeast Plains, Southeast Mountains, and Raton Ridge
Northern Mountains, Northwest Slope, San Luis Valley, Central Mountains, San Juan Mountains, Grand Valley, and Southwest Slope:
Mostly sunny and dry for most, with isolated showers/weak thunderstorms dotting the higher terrain during the afternoon and evening hours. Any activity will drift slowly south/southeast with time, bringing a few showers to adjacent lower elevations. With limited moisture available, the main impacts will be gusty winds, light rainfall, and occasional lightning. Rain rates will generally be less than 0.15 inches/hour, but a stronger (relatively speaking) thunderstorm near the CO/NM border could produce rainfall up to 0.4 inches/hour.
Timing: 2 PM – 11 PM
