535
FXUS65 KBOU 252035
AFDBOU
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER/BOULDER CO
235 PM MDT MON MAY 25 2026
KEY MESSAGES
- WARM CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEK, WITH DAILY SHOWERS
AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS EXPECTED MOST DAYS IN THE
AFTERNOON/EVENING.
- TUESDAY WILL BRING WINDY CONDITIONS TO THE PLAINS AND POTENTIAL
FOR ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS IN AREAS THAT SEE LITTLE/NO
RAIN.
- WEDNESDAY APPEARS TO BE THE MOST ACTIVE DAY WITH MORE WIDESPREAD
SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE.
- AFTER SOMEWHAT OF A LULL THURSDAY, THUNDERSTORM POTENTIAL WILL
INCREASE AGAIN FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND.
DISCUSSION /THROUGH MONDAY/
ISSUED AT 229 PM MDT MON MAY 25 2026
CURRENT SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS CUMULUS CLOUDS DEVELOPING OVER THE
MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING, WITH CONVECTION INITIATING SLIGHTLY
EARLIER THAN YESTERDAY. EXPECT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND ISOLATED
THUNDERSTORMS TO CONTINUE THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING. CURRENT ACARS
SHOW INVERTED-V SOUNDINGS, WITH DCAPE VALUES UP TO 1000 J/KG. SPC
MESOANALYSIS DOES HAVE DCAPE INCREASING TO 1500 J/KG BY THE LATE
AFTERNOON, SO GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS ARE EXPECTED. HOWEVER, GIVEN
STEEP MID-LEVEL LAPSE RATES AND MODEST SHEAR, SMALL HAIL IS ALSO
POSSIBLE WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS.
ON TUESDAY, AN UPPER LEVEL CLOSED LOW WILL TREK FROM THE PACIFIC
NORTHWEST INTO WESTERN UNITED STATES. OVER COLORADO, WINDS ALOFT
WILL TURN MORE SOUTH/SOUTHEASTERLY AND INCREASE IN MAGNITUDE. WITH
MODELED SKEW-T SOUNDINGS SHOWING MIXING HEIGHTS UP TO 600MB, WINDS
WILL LIKELY MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. HI-RES GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO
SHOW WIDESPREAD WIND GUSTS UP TO 35-40 MPH AT TIMES FOR MUCH OF THE
PLAINS ON TUESDAY. THIS COULD BRING ABOUT ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER
CONCERNS FOR AREAS THAT HAVEN'T RECEIVED PRECIPITATION FROM THESE
PAST FEW EVENTS. HOWEVER, THAT COMBINED WITH MARGINAL RELATIVE
HUMIDITY VALUES, THESE CONDITIONS WILL BE LOCALIZED. BY THE
AFTERNOON, A WEAK SHORTWAVE EMBEDDED IN THE UPPER LEVEL FLOW WILL
BRING ANOTHER ROUND OF PRECIPITATION. HOWEVER, COVERAGE SHOULD BE
MAINLY CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS/FOOTHILLS AND AREAS WEST OF THE
I-25 CORRIDOR DUE TO BETTER SYNOPTIC FORCING (THE PLAINS LOOK TOO
STABLE FOR WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION). GUIDANCE DOES FAVOR DECENT
INSTABILITY OVER THE HIGH COUNTRY WITH GUSTY WINDS AND SMALL HAIL
AS THE MAIN THREAT. IN ADDITION, WITH PWAT VALUES CLIMBING UP TO
0.50" TO 0.75" SOME OF THE STRONGER STORMS COULD PRODUCE BRIEF
HEAVY RAIN. HOWEVER, FLOODING CONCERNS WILL BE MARGINAL GIVEN HOW
FAST THE STORM MOTION IS EXPECTED TO BE.
THE UPPER-LEVEL CLOSED LOW WILL LIKELY STAY POSITIONED OVER THE
WESTERN U.S. WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY AS A BLOCKING PATTERN SETS UP
WITH AN UPPER LEVEL HIGH OVER THE GREAT PLAINS. THIS WILL LEAVE
COLORADO IN BETWEEN THESE TWO FEATURES, WITH RELATIVELY WEAK FLOW
ALOFT AND MID-LEVEL MOISTURE BEING CONTINUOUSLY ADVECTED INTO THE
FORECAST AREA. GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH THE BEST
INSTABILITY BUILDING OVER THE PLAINS ON WEDNESDAY, WITH
THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE INCREASING IN THE AFTERNOON. WE COULD HAVE
HEAVY RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH THESE THUNDERSTORMS, GIVEN PWAT VALUES
UP TO 0.90" AND MODELED HODOGRAPHS SHOWING SLOW STORM MOTION.
BY FRIDAY, THE BLOCKING HIGH PRESSURE WILL SHIFT EASTWARD WITH THE
WESTERN UPPER LEVEL LOW GETTING ABSORBED BY ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL
TROUGH. AT THE SURFACE, GUIDANCE IS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH LEE-SIDE
TROUGHING OCCURRING OVER THE PLAINS. DAILY PRECIPITATION CHANCES
(WITH POTENTIAL FOR THUNDERSTORMS GIVEN DECENT INSTABILITY IN PLACE)
ARE POSSIBLY INTO THE WEEKEND, PARTICULARLY FOR THE NORTHERN
FOOTHILLS AND PLAINS. TEMPERATURES SHOULD STAY SLIGHTLY ABOVE
NORMAL, WITH HIGHS IN THE LOW 80S ACROSS THE PLAINS.
AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z TUESDAY/
ISSUED AT 1246 PM MDT MON MAY 25 2026
CURRENT OBSERVATIONS SHOW THAT SHOWERS ARE STARTING TO DEVELOP OVER
THE FRONT RANGE AND PALMER DIVIDE, AS WELL AS AN INCREASE IN CUMULUS
CLOUDS OVER THE DENVER METRO AREA. WINDS ARE CURRENTLY LIGHT AND
VARIABLE OVER THE REGION, BUT OUTFLOWS WITH GUSTS UP TO 35-40KT WILL
BE POSSIBLE WITH ANY SHOWERS THAT DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON BETWEEN 19Z
AND 01Z. A PUSH OF S-SE WINDS WILL ARRIVE AT KAPA AND KDEN BY 06Z
THIS EVENING AND PERSIST THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. KBJC WILL LIKELY
EXPERIENCE LIGHT AND VARIABLE WINDS EARLY THIS EVENING BEFORE
A RETURN TO THE TYPICAL SW DRAINAGE WINDS OVERNIGHT.
WE EXPECT SOUTHERLY FLOW TO STRENGTHEN TUESDAY MORNING AND PEAK
SOMETIME BETWEEN LATE MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON. WE HAVE
INTRODUCED A TEMPO FOR S-SSE GUSTS UP TO 35KT AT KDEN AND KAPA.
THERE WILL BE ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND MICROBURSTS
TOMORROW AFTERNOON, ALTHOUGH THE OUTFLOW POTENTIAL SHOULD BE
SLIGHTLY LOWER THAN TODAY'S DUE TO INCREASED SURFACE MOISTURE.
BOU WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
NONE.
DISCUSSION...MAI
AVIATION...AA
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