COLORADO, USA — Monday morning was the coldest day of the month for most of Colorado, including Denver which had a 3 degree low at the Denver International Airport.
The perception is that it is always cold in December, right? It's strange to think that an average temperature of freezing, is actually warmer than average.
The month of December is usually Denver’s coldest month of the year. With an average temperature of 30 degrees, it is just slightly colder than January's average of 30.7 degrees
As of Sunday, Denver had an average temperature of 34.3 degrees for the month. The final 2 days will be pretty cold, though.
Monday will end up well below freezing will a high of 31 degrees. Tuesday may end up below freezing as well, with a forecast low of 12 degrees and a high of 45.
That will likely drop our average closer to 34.0, but that is still a full 4 degrees warmer than average. And it would finish as the warmest December in 9 years for Denver.
All of the weather stations across the Front Range are reporting temperatures well above average for this December, although many of them have 2017 as even warmer.
The average temperature for Denver in 2017 was 33.2 degrees, so the next warmest reading would be the 34.3 in 2010.
Those warm temperatures are expected to spill over into the beginning of 2020 with the warmest New Year's Eve in 6 years, and if we reach a high temp above 50 degrees on New Years Day, it would be the first time in 10 years.
Some spots in the mountain valleys are running colder than average thanks to extremely low temperatures like the ones recorded on Monday morning.
A low of -48 degrees was recorded at Antero Reservoir; -26 in Alamosa, -26 in Gunnison, and -26 in Kremmling. Each one of those locations will finish the month below their average.
Then the averages warm back up on the Western Slope. Places like Durango, Montrose, and Grand Junction will all finish way warmer than average for December 2019.
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