If you looked at a thermometer late this morning or early this afternoon you might have found yourself wondering if the calendar that says it is December is correct. Not since 1885 when Grover Cleveland was inaugurated as the 22nd president of the United States and the Washington Monument was completed has Denver had as warm of temperatures on December 3rd as today.
At 11:41am this morning the temperature at the official Denver weather station at Denver International Airport reached 69 degrees. Thornton topped that slightly as we recorded 70.2 degrees at 12:13pm.
As is often the case, the warmer temperatures have been brought on my strong winds. Gusts this afternoon to 45mph are possible, particularly along the usual wind-prone areas in the foothills like Highway 93 between Boulder and Golden.
The warmth will be short-lived however as those winds bring in a cold front later this evening. Overnight and into tomorrow some areas of the Front Range may see a wintry mix of snow and freezing drizzle. Highs on Saturday will only reach the mid to upper 30s. For the complete local Thornton forecast click here.
Related (Examiner.com): Do Denver weather and climate records have an asterisk attached?
ThorntonWeather.com note: Some media outlets, including KMGH Channel 7, are incorrectly reporting that Denver hit a high temperature of 70 degrees today and broke the record. This is incorrect.
National Weather Service observations are initially reported in Celsius, rounded to the nearest whole degree – in today’s case, 21 degrees Celsius (70 degrees Fahrenheit). However the true temperature is recorded to the nearest tenth of a degree. Today’s actual high temperature was 20.6 degrees Celsius or 69 degrees Fahrenheit.
Yet another reason to rely on ThorntonWeather.com for your weather news and information! 😉