Denver fell one degree short of a heat record for the date today, when afternoon temperatures peaked at 97 degrees just before 3 p.m., according to the National Weather Service.
The record of 98 degrees was set in 1960.
Nicer weather is on the way.
Temperatures are expected to cool by 30 degrees this evening, and Monday’s forecast has a high of 88 degrees and 70 Tuesday and 86 Wednesday.
The seasons are beginning their turn toward autumn, said Bob Koopmeiners, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
“We’re getting into the good time of year,” he said, noting that average daytime high temperature has slipped from 89 degrees to 85 degrees so far this month.
By this point in September, the average time high is 10 degrees cooler, or 75 degrees, according to Denver weather data.
The Front Range has a 30 percent chance of showers tonight and Monday, with stronger possibilities of thunderstorms on the Eastern Plains tonight, according to forecasters. Some areas in eastern Colorado could see stronger storms.
Rain chances diminish in the metro region Tuesday with temperatures returning to 90 on Thursday, according to the Weather Service.
The high on Friday is forecast at 94 degrees. The record for the date is 98 degrees, set in 1994. Temperatures in the lower 80s are forecast for next weekend.
