Denver Weather: Thunderstorms Are Likely Wednesday Afternoon, Rain Could Be Heavy

DENVER (CBS4) - A storm system moving over Colorado on Wednesday will spread showers and thunderstorms across most of the state on Wednesday. Some parts of of the state are already under a Flash Flood Watch.

For Denver and the Front Range, most of the rain will wait until 2 p.m. The chance for thunderstorms will become "likely" before 6 p.m. with many areas experiencing brief heavy rain at some point during the Wednesday evening commute.

There is a also a small chance a few thunderstorms could be severe with the primary concern being damaging wind. There is also a slight chance a couple storms could produce hail up to 1 inch in diameter which is large enough to cause damage.

Most of northeast Colorado including the entire Denver metro area officially has a "marginal" threat for hail and wind late Wednesday.

Generally speaking, the bigger concern is potential flooding in the mountains particularly in the burn scar areas. All of the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountain regions are under a Flash Flood Watch through midnight Wednesday night. The entire Pine Gulch burn scar area north of Grand Junction is also under a Flash Flood Watch.

Other burn scars like Grizzly Creek near Glenwood Springs and Cameron Peak near Estes Park will also be watched closely for flooding and mudslides.  A portion of I-70 was closed through Glenwood Canyon as a precaution on Tuesday and the same could happen again Wednesday.

It will also be noticeably cooler for many areas on Wednesday including in the Denver metro area with an expected high temperature of only 80 degrees. That's about 10 degrees below normal for the middle of July.

Looking ahead to Thursday and Friday, moisture will decrease across the state so while afternoon thunderstorms will remain in the forecast, there will be fewer storms and rain won't be as heavy nor last as long.