The National Weather Service has recorded nine days of 90-degree or higher temperatures so far this month. The heat wave may be coming to an end. Brady Flaherty, 6, left, Adalyn Betts, 6, and Taiven Betts, 4, play in a water feature on the outdoor splash pad earlier this month at the Durango Community Recreation Center.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file

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The National Weather Service has recorded nine days of 90-degree or higher temperatures so far this month. The heat wave may be coming to an end. Brady Flaherty, 6, left, Adalyn Betts, 6, and Taiven Betts, 4, play in a water feature on the outdoor splash pad earlier this month at the Durango Community Recreation Center.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald file

Southwest Colorado will soon receive a reprieve from above-average temperatures.

A high-pressure system sitting over the region is blamed for the above-average temperatures, including nine days so far this month with temperatures 90 degrees or higher, as recorded at the Durango-La Plata County Airport, said Megan Stackhouse, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Junction.

The average temperature for this time of year is in the mid-80s, she said.

Temperatures were expected to reach 89 degrees Monday and remain in the upper 80s through Wednesday, with a slight cooling trend later in the week courtesy of scattered thunderstorms.

Stackhouse said the atmosphere has been relatively dry but heavier rates of precipitation will begin Tuesday or Wednesday. Storms could persist at higher elevations through Saturday, but the most widespread moisture will occur Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

Frequent lightning is likely to accompany the storms, according to the National Weather Service.

bmandile@durangoherald.com