It’s a statement we haven’t been able to make much this year: it’s going to be very nice this weekend.

Today starts out with clear skies and cool but seasonable temperatures following a weak cold front that moved south overnight. We’ll have plenty of sunshine through noon today with high pressure and stable air in place.

Temperatures at noon will have risen to the upper 60s to low 70s across the Pikes Peak Region. Pacific moisture and energy will flow over the mountains, kicking off thunderstorm development by noon as well. Through the afternoon, these storms and energy will flow east into the Pikes Peak Region.

Meanwhile, high pressure will move southeast through Wyoming – with our local wind flow turning increasingly upslope through the day around the clockwise flow of the high. This will pull in some modest moisture from the Gulf of Mexico later in the afternoon.

Combined, this will result in showers working through the Pikes Peak Region this afternoon into the early evening. The first batch of storms is likely to produce modestly gusty winds and light rain. Any additional batches may produce heavier rain rates.

Severe weather is not expected, and these storms won’t be long lasting – typical May showers and thunderstorms … they’ll roll in and out over a period of 30 minutes or so.

Therefore most of your day will be dry – you’ll just want a place to hop inside … your car, or a building, if the skies do darken and you start hearing rumbles of thunder. Highs today will reach the mid to upper 70s…only a few degrees cooler than yesterday’s high of 81, our first 80 degree or warmer day of the year.

Looking ahead

A broad ridge of high pressure will be in place Sunday and Monday. Generally clear skies, and downslope warm winds, will push the mercury to the low 80s on Sunday and upper 70s on Monday. It’s a nice period – but it will be breezy both days. On Sunday, expect southwest winds, with gusts from 20-30 mph.

On Monday, those winds will be slightly more noticeable with sustained speeds of 15-25 mph and gusts to 35 mph. It’ll also be dry, with low relative humidity values in the teens.

By Tuesday, an upper-level low will be arriving in the state from the northwest. A stray shower is possible late Monday, but better chances will be on Tuesday with more moisture to work with. This will also cool our temperatures to the upper 60s to lower 70s. Some of this moisture will likely stick around into Wednesday morning before we return to a quieter pattern late next week.