“The best we’ve seen all year”

DENVER – Weather conditions will come together Monday afternoon and evening, bringing potential flash flooding to the Denver metro area and communities along Colorado’s Front Range and eastern plains.

Along with the threat of flooding, strong to severe thunderstorms are also possible, which could bring strong winds and hail to the metropolitan area and eastern plains.

“Eastern Colorado is under a marginal risk for severe weather, we could see larger hail, wind gusts over 60 mph and we could even see some isolated tornadoes pop up,” said Denver7 meteorologist Lisa Hidalgo.

A flash flood watch went into effect at 2 p.m. and will last until 9 p.m. Monday, including Denver, Castle Rock, Parker, Highlands Ranch, Aurora, Brighton and other communities.

The National Weather Service (NWS) in Boulder said the storms could drop up to 1 to 2 inches of rain in less than 45 minutes.

“The ingredients are as good as we’ve seen all year in terms of flash flood potential,” the NWS said in its forecast discussion.

Parts of eastern Colorado, also under a flash flood warning, could see 2 to 3 inches of rain in an hour, the NWS said.

In a mid-afternoon update, the NWS said the greatest threat of flash flooding “would likely occur in the southern/eastern sections of the Denver metro area and the Palmer Divide due to urban flooding.”

Forecasters said the heaviest totals were expected in Elbert, Lincoln and Washington counties, “but rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches in 30 to 45 minutes will also be possible closer to Denver and Douglas County,” according to the NWS.

Colorado’s fire scar areas will also see a flood threat from Monday’s storms. “We still think this will be one of the highest threat days we’ve seen this year, particularly for recent burn areas,” the NWS added.

During the late afternoon and early evening, Denver7’s Futurecast showed much of the storm activity moving past Denver, with heavier storms lingering over the eastern Plains.

“A few strong thunderstorms are possible in Limon, Akron and even Sterling, and then some continued moisture in the mountains later tonight,” said Denver7 meteorologist Katie LaSalle. “We could see some areas of fog again early Tuesday across the Plains with lingering showers early.”

The storm threat returns Tuesday to the Denver metro area and the I-25 corridor, with potentially stronger storms again across the Plains.

The Eastern Plains could see stronger storms on Monday and Tuesday.

DENVER WEATHER LINKS: Hourly forecast | Radars | Traffic | Weather page | 24/7 weather broadcast

Click here to watch Denver7’s live weather stream.