Heat slowly eases, little by little

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Our warm week of little change is progressing along. Tuesday was likely the warmest day of the week. We’ll cool a degree or two from day to day for the rest of the week, but that limited cooling still leaves us warm - unseasonably so on most days.

Our Next 24 Hours

This evening will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy. We’ll cool from upper 90s around 6 PM to lower 90s around 8 PM, then from 90s to 70s between 9 PM and midnight. The rest of tonight will be mostly clear. Low temperatures by morning will be near 68 degrees around Grand Junction and 62 degrees around Montrose. Wednesday will be mostly sunny. We’ll warm from 60s to lower 70s at 7 AM to lower 90s by midday. The afternoon will be partly cloudy. High temperatures will be near 97 degrees around Grand Junction and 92 degrees around Montrose. A few spots in the Grand Valley may reach 100 degrees again around the Grand Valley.

More Showers & Storms In The Mountains

High pressure centered right over the top of us on our Tuesday afternoon is the main feature influencing our weather. Sinking air common beneath high pressure is choking any rain around our area. The limited areas of rising air are within east-to-west upslope winds in the San Juans. The isolated storms that have developed well south of us won’t reach us, and those storms will fade quickly after sunset.

Gradual Cooling With Increasing Showers Late This Week

That high pressure is shifting. As the center of the clockwise circulation tracks eastward, it will change the flow of the atmosphere. We get an east-to-west flow that is, overall, a downslope wind off of the Continental Divide. That will keep us dry on Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday, the flow is more from the south/southeast. That’s a more humid wind that can carry small mid-level swirls over the top of us - similar to the flow of a river that can swirl around a rock. That can help add a few showers and storms. The center of the high pressure is the strongest part of the high pressure. Since it shifts east, air can rise more easily around its edge late this week and help, even just a little, to bring showers and storms back to the forecast. We’ll also cool more noticeably late this week and this weekend as the high pressure’s center shifts farter east.

Copyright 2022 KKCO. All rights reserved.