Scattered mountain showers and storms possible again

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KJCT) - Scattered mountain showers and a few thunderstorms develop across the region once again into the afternoon.

Today and Tonight

As one round of morning rain wraps up over the San Juan Mountains, we’ll watch as yet another round of scattered showers and a few thunderstorms pop up mostly over the higher terrain of the Western Slope this afternoon. Radar will look very similar to the last couple of afternoons, with several showers a few rumbles of thunder starting out mostly over the mountains. We could see a few quick showers in the valleys, but that will most likely happen later this afternoon and into the early evening as temperatures start to cool once again. We’ll see partly to mostly cloudy skies otherwise with highs in the middle and upper 70s. Any rain ends and skies start clearing out tonight with lows in the upper 40s and lower to middle 50s.

Midweek Mountain Rain

Drier air filters into the region on Tuesday and Wednesday, and while it won’t completely shut off the rain we should see significantly less coverage around the region. The handful of showers that do develop on Tuesday should stay almost entirely over the higher terrain while the valleys stay dry and warm. We could see a few more showers and storms on Wednesday, but most of the rain looks to be limited to the San Juan Mountains. Better rain chances return to the entire Western Slope on Thursday and Friday as a little better moisture returns to the region.

Rivers Rising Again

After a fairly quiet end of the week and weekend, flood alerts are starting to pop up once again around the Western Slope as consistently warmer temperatures and threats for occasional heavy rain move over the region. A Flood Advisory continues for the Dolores River along Highway 141 until 6 PM tonight, but that will likely need to be extended as the Dolores River continues to rise well into moderate flood stage through the end of the week. A Flood Warning continues for the Elk River until further notice as backwater flooding is happening due to debris blocking culverts along Highway 40. The Elk River is expected to continue to rise farther into minor flood stage through the end of the week. The Yampa River, the Gunnison River, the Mancos River, Elkhead Creek, and Plateau Creek are all also expected to exceed flood stage through the remainder of the week.

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