Smoke-filled skies are expected to give way to cloudy skies beginning Wednesday as temperatures cool and the chance for monsoonal rains increases.
The hazy skies Sunday through Tuesday in Southwest Colorado were the the result of several large wildfires burning in California, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, according to the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.
“All of those fires are producing smoke and it’s kind of moving around ... over the Great Basin,” said Mark Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “All that smoke is wrapping around being pushed south into our neck of the woods.”
He said the closest major wildfire was near Steamboat Springs.
Temperatures are expected to cool down Wednesday through Friday, with highs in the mid-80s. But temperatures will return to the low-90s by this weekend.
Monsoonal moisture is expected to return through Friday, with an 80% chance of rain Wednesday, 50% chance Thursday and 40% chance Friday.
shane@durangoherald.com
