After a cold front swung through overnight, today will be noticeably cooler in the Pikes Peak Region. In fact, my forecast high of 82 degrees at the Colorado Springs Airport would make today the coolest day in 9 days, and our first day in the 80s since last Saturday!

It’s been a hot June — our average temperature has thus far been over 4 degrees above normal (71.4 vs. 67.1), and our average high temperatures have been over 5 degrees above normal (86.5 vs. 81.5). That cold front leads to storm chances today during the afternoon.

Today will feel a bit sticky and humid with our airflow coming from the southeast this afternoon at 15-20 mph. This will lead to dew points, which measure how wet or dry the air is, in the 50s this afternoon, climbing to near 60 by late afternoon. By Colorado standards, that’s air you can wear.

Thunderstorm timing today will be fairly late – in the 4PM-7PM time frame in the Pikes Peak Region. That means a good chunk of your day is going to be fine weather-wise. When storms do arrive, a few will be capable of heavy rain and flash flooding, strong wind gusts to 60 mph, and quarter sized hail (1″ diameter). Garden variety storms will still contain dangerous lightning. Remember: if you can hear thunder, you can be struck by lightning. Have a place to go indoors if you hear thunder or see a storm approaching.

Looking ahead

We’ve got more action in the weather cauldron on Sunday, as we continue to mix together upslope flow, tropical upper-level moisture, upper-level energy and heat that all up with our hot and potent June sunshine.

Sunday will start off with clouds in the Pikes Peak Region, left over from the late storms you’ll see today. These clouds will eventually dissipate during the late morning into the early afternoon.

Timing here will be key — if the clouds hang tough for longer, it’ll tamp down our storm odds on Sunday. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms will be possible, and timing is likely to be earlier, in the 1-3 p.m. range, as instability increases earlier in the day. Highs rebound as a warm front crosses the area but the extra clouds will temper that warm up — so we’ll be in the mid 80s.

High pressure brings back the 90s for the first half of next week, with isolated storm chances each afternoon – it’ll be less likely for you to see a storm than either Saturday or Sunday. We’ll dry out by July 4th outside of the mountains, with temperatures still hovering near 90.