July will bring monsoons

Colorado will have a warmer-than-average July, with a few opportunities for showers and thunderstorms, as well as a couple of severe weather episodes.

There will also be several dry days during the month, with several days reaching the 90s or climbing past 100 from the foothills along the Front Range across the Eastern Plains, including Denver, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Temperatures are expected to average 2 to 3 degrees above the normals in the east and 1 to 2 degrees above normal in the mountains and west.

Normal highs are near 90 degrees in Denver to mid90s toward the Kansas border.

There should be one or two days of severe weather, especially in the eastern half of Colorado, with the main threats being large hail and even a few tornadoes.

The summer monsoon should come alive in mid-July and lead to showers and thunderstorm in the mountains, primarily during the afternoon and evening hours.

There could be localized flash flooding in some areas.

Overall, we expect rainfall to average near normal during the month east of the mountains. However, rainfall should wind up above normal in the mountains due to the upcoming summer monsoon.