Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
Issued by NWS Denver/Boulder, CO
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114 FXUS65 KBOU 080021 AFDBOU Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Denver/Boulder CO 621 PM MDT Thu May 7 2026 .KEY MESSAGES... - Seasonal temperatures through Sunday, with isolated to scattered afternoon and evening showers for the mountains and parts of the plains. - Summerlike warmth and drier weather next week, with highs into the 80s for the lower elevations. && .DISCUSSION /Through Thursday/... Issued at 1259 PM MDT Thu May 7 2026 Satellite shows mid/upper level moisture pushing southeast across the area. The airmass was slowly destabilizing under daytime heating, which will support development of isolated to scattered high based showers and even a lone storm or two. Any convection will continue well into the evening hours as a speed max/upper level disturbance drops southeast across the Northern and Central Rockies. The highest coverage would favor the northeast plains and mountains, while a downslope component along the Front Range I-25 Corridor keeps mostly dry weather in place and only an isolated weak shower or two at most. On Friday, some mid level moisture will remain over the area but forecast soundings show more stability due to slight cooling in the boundary layer. There`s still a slight chance we could pop some weak convection in/near the foothills, so something to watch. Temperatures will be near normal for this time of year. Saturday should see an uptick in convection coverage and intensity, as models are more in line with a shortwave dropping into the area in northwest flow aloft. Instability is expected to grow to 400-800 J/kg across the plains, so a couple storms in the late afternoon and evening will have a little more sprightliness and be capable of producing some small hail and strong outflow winds to 40-50 mph. Temperatures will be a few degrees warmer on Saturday. Then slight cooling will occur behind that disturbance for Sunday, with generally drier conditions expected due to increased stability. The warmest day of the upcoming week (at least from a probabilistic perspective) is still shaping up to be Monday, when ensembles have the highest agreement in both ridging and warm advection. Blended forecasts have trended another degree or two warmer, with highs now forecast to reach the 85-90 degree range over most of the plains and I-25 Corridor. While the deterministic forecasts slide a few degrees in temperatures for Tuesday - Thursday, that`s only due to uncertainty in the strength of the ridge. It`s still likely we`ll remain a good 10-15 degrees above normal for this time period, with highs >80F for the plains and I-25 Corridor through the end of next week. The chances of showers and thunderstorms will be remain quite small for this period. && .AVIATION /00Z TAFS through 00Z Saturday/... Issued at 558 PM MDT Thu May 7 2026 Rain showers have formed mainly across far northern Colorado this evening. These showers will produce some outflow boundaries that may impact the terminals with gusty winds. There was enough confidence in an outflow boundary moving through DEN that a TEMPO was included for gusts up to 26 knots. The most likely time for an outflow boundary to move through DEN is 02-04Z but it could occur anytime between 01-05Z. Gusts are also possible at APA and BJC. With so much moisture around (dew points in the low to mid 40s tonight), there will be a small chance (20%) that fog or very low clouds form. A FEW004 group is in the forecast to give a heads up on this possibility. The most likely time for the fog would be between 10-15Z. Otherwise, there will be VFR conditions and light winds for the rest of the TAF period. && .BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ DISCUSSION...20 AVIATION...Danielson