NOAA's National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

It's HOT!

Southeast and south central Colorado is deep in the grips of a heat wave, with temperatures across the Eastern Plains running nearly 10F above normal. The high temperature in Pueblo keeps breaking records...with a record high of 106F set on July 3rd, and another record 105F set on the 5th.  With an upper ridge hanging tough over the four corners late into the week, these high temperatures are expected to continue. In fact, for July 1-8, the temperature in Pueblo was over 100F each day.

So what is a normal high for this time of year?  What are the record high temperatures for the area? And what is the longest +100F temperature streak for Pueblo?  A quick search of the climate records brings the following information:

Some interesting facts:

• Considering normal temperatures for July 6-10, high temperatures on average run 81-82F in Alamosa, 90-92F in Pueblo, and 84F in Colorado Springs. (Considering a climate 'normal' period of 1971-2000).
• The longest string of days with high temperatures above 100F for Pueblo  was nine consecutive days, from June 24 to July 2, 1990.
• The last time Pueblo had a summer with no 100 F days was 1967.

(The + sign indicates the record was also set in previous years.)

The highest temperatures ever recorded for Pueblo, Alamosa, and Colorado Springs are listed below. (Noting the dates of record in the previous table.)  Keep an eye on these numbers...there's a chance new records high temperatures will continue to be set this week.