Saturday thunderstorms moving across the mountains to the Denver area could bring heavy rain, strong winds and hail, according to the National Weather Service.
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Higher elevations in the mountains and foothills have the highest chance of seeing rain showers and thunderstorms Saturday, NWS forecasters said.
The afternoon and evening thunderstorms will bring heavy rain and possible flash flooding, especially over alpine burn scars, NWS forecasters said in a hazardous weather outlook.
In areas where fire burns hot or long enough — including burn scars left by the Cameron Peak fire in Jackson and Larimer counties, the East Troublesome fire in Grand and Larimer counties and the Williams Fork fire in Grand County — the soil develops a water-repellant layer that reacts like rain on pavement, weather officials said.
Rainfall that would normally be absorbed by the forest canopy and loose tree litter on the ground instead runs off, starting flash floods during periods of heavy rain.
“If you can look uphill from where you are and see a burnt-out area, you are at risk,” NWS meteorologists said.
Gusty winds and hail are the main threats over the metro area, forecasters said in the hazardous weather outlook. Expected wind speeds and hail sizes were not available Saturday morning.
The strongest storms will hit the Denver area around noon and decrease in intensity throughout the day before wrapping up around midnight, according to NWS forecasters.
Denver will see a high of 91 degrees on Saturday, with warmer and drier days expected the rest of the week.
Sunday and Monday will bring temperature highs of 97 degrees, and Tuesday and Wednesday will bring 98-degree heat to the city — only a couple of degrees away from record-breaking temperatures on both days.
Thunderstorms and rain showers are expected to return to the metro area on Friday.
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