With plenty of monsoon moisture in place, a cold front dropped through Colorado overnight and its low pressure center moved into the High Plains; this afternoon, it sits in south-central Nebraska. Behind the front and west of the low, northerly winds are pushing the entrenched moisture across the Front Range urban corridor and toward the mountains.
Rising as it is forced toward higher terrain, the moisture-laden air cools and condenses, unleashing rain showers, scattered thunderstorms and, across the higher peaks, snow. Beneath the upslope cloud layer, afternoon temperatures have remained in the lower 60s (F), a good twenty degrees below average for late August.
While moisture is always welcome in this semi-arid landscape, soils are becoming saturated and the risk of flash floods or rock slides is rapidly increasing. Fortunately, this cold front (and a stronger system behind it) will likely cut off the monsoon flow in the coming days and, once the current low moves further to the east, the upslope will diminish as well. Until then, it will feel more like March than August along the Colorado Front Range.
