Denver tied a record high temperature today — its fifth in in eight days — and more than likely cinched this month as the hottest August on record, according to the National Weather Service.
The the temperature in the city reached 98 degrees this afternoon, tying 1960 for the hottest Aug. 31 since the government started keeping weather records here in 1882.
If it doesn’t cool much past the expected 63 degrees before midnight, the month’s average daily temperature would rise just above the 76.8 degrees set in 1937.
The National Weather Service will make an official determination for the record books Thursday morning, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kyle Fredin.
The month will still easily surpass second-place 2007, when the average daily temperature was 75.4 degrees.
The 30-year average is 72.5 degrees, with daily highs in the mid-80s by late August, according to weather data.
Fall weather is on its way, Fredin said.
A cold front on Friday should push the high temperature down to low 80s, where they could stay, for the most part, well into next week, he said.
“We’re going to cool down and start moving into a more fall-like trend,” he said.
The National Weather Service’s 30-day outlook for September, however, calls for temperatures that are warmer and drier than normal for the Front Range.
September gives the Front Range, on average, its greatest number of sunny days, with a daily mean temperature of 63.4 degrees and an average daily high of 78.5 degrees.
Denver normally gets 1.14 inches of rain in September.
Last year, the city sweltered into a tie with 1939 for the seventh-warmest September on record. Along the way, it set or tied four daily heat records in the mid-90s, as well as recording 25 other days above 80 degree.
