After an unseasonably hot August weekend, Colorado’s mountain towns can expect a shift to rainy weather and cleaner air as monsoonal moisture overtakes the West.

Several Western Slope towns saw elevated temperatures compared to their typical August averages on Friday through Sunday, with most of the state running 10 degrees above normal, according to National Weather Service Meteorologist David Byers.

This comes after a hot and dry stretch that saw record-high temperatures set in July for Summit County. The temperature in Dillon on July 14 tied an 87-year-old record set in 1939, while the July 21 temperature tied a record set in 2005. While Dillon’s temperatures normally top out at 75 degrees in July, the average this year was 80.8 degrees.

But a nearing surge in monsoonal moisture is shaking up the forecast, which shows increasing chances of showers and thunderstorms across the Western Slope mountains and some relief from the weekend’s highs.

The new weather pattern is both good and bad news for wildfires in Colorado. Cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity could help to temporarily weaken fire danger. At the same time, thunderstorms could bring “hit or miss rainfall, lighting and gusty outflow winds” that make for challenging fire conditions, especially during dry thunderstorms where moisture will be limited, OpenSnow Meteorologist Alan Smith wrote in a Monday report.

“The rains will definitely put a damper on the fires, and the rains also tend to clear out the air,” Byers said. “But a risk that we’re concerned about is where there’s been a wildfire, the ground becomes hydrophobic. … those areas that are burned become critical threats for flash flooding.”

The chance for precipitation and thunderstorms is expected to pick up significantly on Wednesday, with estimates ranging from 40% in Glenwood Springs to 80% in Dillon after noon. Cloudier skies could lead to a small relief from the warm temperatures, which should continue to drop through the weekend.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected to increase on Thursday, with chances ranging from 60% in Glenwood to 90% in Dillon, Aspen and Vail. The on-and-off precipitation is forecast to last through Saturday across most of the region.

Nights are also forecast to get cooler, transitioning to lows in the 50s and 40s by the weekend.

While skies remain hazy across most of the state as of Monday, smoke is expected to decrease gradually throughout the week. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, upper-level winds are transporting the heaviest smoke to the north of Colorado, and the addition of afternoon showers should help clear out any lingering smoke across Western Colorado.

The relief is expected to continue into Friday, which has a 90% chance of precipitation in Dillon. Summit County is expected to have a chance of rain every day through Monday, according to the National Weather Service.