DENVER — The temperature in Denver climbed above 70 degrees for the first time in 90 days on Wednesday afternoon. It topped out at 74 degrees, which tied a record high temperature for March 2.
It will likely hit 70 degrees again on Thursday, and there’s even a decent chance to hit the third 70 of the week on Friday.
On average, it hits 70 degrees in Denver four times during the month of March. But the chances of getting four 70-degree days this March are fading.
Computer modeling shows a high chance that the temperature in Denver will be below average for two weeks starting on Saturday, and the high temperature will likely stay below 60 degrees until March 22.
If there is going to be another 70, it might have to wait until the last week of March to happen.
Despite the cool forecast, there has been a significant warming trend in March over the last 15 years.
It’s been an average of 1.4 degrees warmer between 2007 and 2021. The average temperature over that span was 42.2 degrees in Denver. Compare that to the 40.8-degree average over the previous 30 years (1996-2006).
But the other spring months of April and May have been showing a cooling trend. Over the last 15 years, the average temperature in April was 47.6 degrees, and May's average temperature in Denver was 56.5 degrees over that time period.
In meteorological record-keeping, spring is all of March, April, and May.
Most other places in the West are showing a greater spring warming trend, including the rest of Colorado.
For example, the number of spring days warmer than average has only increased by an average of two days in Denver. Colorado Springs has seen 12 more warmer-than-average days, and Phoenix has seen an average of 31 more days above the average spring temperatures.
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