The warm weather and clear skies will continue through today, Thursday, Aug. 1, with a high forecast at 91 degrees, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
That, according to the NWS, will potentially set a new record high.
The low for tonight, Thursday, Aug. 1, is forecast at 54 degrees with partly cloudy skies and a slight chance of thunderstorms.
According to Shawn Prochazka at Pagosa Weather, the record high temperature in Pagosa Springs for Aug.1 was 90 degrees, set in 1993.
Chances of scattered thunderstorms will increase as the weekend goes on, with a high near 90 degrees and a 60 percent chance of precipitation during the day on Friday, Aug. 2. The low for the night is forecast at 52 degrees with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before midnight.
For Saturday, Aug. 3, the high is forecast at 88 degrees with a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after noon. The low is forecast to be around 52 degrees with a chance of showers before midnight.
For Sunday, Aug. 4, the high is forecast to be around 87 degrees with a chance of showers throughout the day and a low of 52 degrees.
According to Prochazka, beginning on Friday, Aug. 2, the chance for afternoon storms will ramp up each day going into the weekend.
He notes that all storms are capable of short periods of heavy rain, small hail, gusty winds and lightning.
Prochazka also explains that monsoon moisture and instability will likely stay in our region over the next week and that storms will be hit or miss around Pagosa Country.
With that, high temperatures “will be closer to average starting this weekend due to an increase in afternoon cloud cover,” Prochazka writes in an email to The SUN.
River flows
According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), as of 2 p.m. on July 31, the San Juan River in Pagosa Springs had a flow rate of 72.8 cubic feet per second (cfs).
According to the USGS, based on 88 years of water records, the record low for that date was in 2002 at 15.8 cfs.
The record high was in 1957 at 1,040 cfs.
The average flow for that date is 203 cfs.
As of 2 p.m. on July 31, the Piedra River near Arboles had a flow of 56.7 cfs, according to the USGS.
Based on 61 years of water records, the record high flow for the Piedra River for that date was in 1997 at 1,160 cfs and the record low was in 2002 at 12.6 cfs, according to the USGS.
clayton@pagosasun.com
