If you’ve ran, or in my case casually walked, a few BolderBoulders then you know Memorial Day weekend along the Front Range can be a cold and rainy affair. This weekend will be no different.
“It's probably going to be cool, cloudy and rainy, unfortunately,” said Caitlyn Mensch, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Boulder.
Temperatures could get up into the 80s on Friday. Hot enough to make you think the weekend will be hot and barbecue worthy. There’s a small chance of summertime thunderstorms in the afternoon, but the forecast is mostly sunny and clear skies.
Early Saturday will also be clear with highs in the mid-70s, but by afternoon, clouds and gray skies will set in with rain and thunderstorms likely. There’s a chance of severe weather — heavy rain, wind and perhaps some light hail.
Rain is expected all along the Foothills and then will move east. Mensch said most of the state east of the Continental Divide will see rain this weekend. Farther west is looking drier through the holiday.
The clouds and rain are expected to stick around Sunday too, with highs in the upper 60s. The weather system will be moving through the state, increasing the chances of rain. Flash flooding is possible especially in areas with burn scars from wildfires like Rocky Mountain National Park.
Finally, Memorial Day. It will be the kind where I would ditch the rainy and cold BolderBoulder race for a hot cup of coffee and a bagel. The temperature will be the lowest of the weekend, with highs in the low-60s. It will probably rain all day and be gray and dreary along the Foothills.
Just as people head back to work after the long weekend, the weather will warm up some and Colorado will see some drier days as it heads into June.