(SOUTHERN COLORADO) — Thunderstorms will move from west to east across Southern Colorado Wednesday. Storms will develop over the mountains in the late morning and early afternoon, move across the foothills and Front Range in the middle part of the afternoon and then move over the plains in the evening. You can time the storms out with the slideshow below.

The strongest storms are most likely on the northern slopes of the Raton Mesa where hail up to 2″, wind gusts of 65 mph, and perhaps a tornado are possible. Farther north the storms shouldn’t be as intense with hail up to 1 or perhaps 1.5″ possible and gusts of 60 mph likely with the strongest cells. This includes Colorado Springs and Pueblo.

Storms moving east in the evening will be more likely to bring a 65 mph wind threat versus a hail threat after 7 p.m. Many storms today will produce heavy rain.

Severe storms are also possible on Thursday, but there are more questions about the evolution of storms away from the mountains. There is some indication that a layer of stability in the mid-levels of the atmosphere (called a cap) may have storms dying out as they head east away from the higher terrain.

IF the storms can hold together though, they’ll have enough moisture for one or two of them to become severe. Check back, we’ll figure that out after today’s round of storms.

We’ll dry out some into the holiday weekend with just a hit-or-miss storm possible on Saturday and Sunday for most of us. The best chance of storms will be over the far eastern plains along the dryline.