The last time the temperature was below 80 degrees in Denver, vouchers in Douglas County schools were still legal, Bill Vidal was still Mayor and the unemployment rate was, well, where it still is (it hasn’t been that long).
But today’s cooldown did end a record-setting 73 consecutive days of highs in the 80s.
“The streak is over,” said Frank Benton, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder when contacted around 3 p.m. “So far, the high today is 68 degrees, which is a little nippy.”
The last time Denver’s high stayed below 80 was June 21 when the mercury read 76 degrees. From that day on, it just climbed — not quite to Dallas levels, but it made for a long hot streak in Denver.
This year’s hot streak shattered the previous record in Denver of 59 consecutive days above 80, set in 2002.
It adds to the long list of weather records set in the summer of 2011. August was the hottest August on record, breaking a record set in 1937, and the sixth hottest Denver month ever. Six days in August set or tied high temperature records.
But while today is cool, it’s far from setting a record at the other end of the scale. The coolest Sept. 3 was recorded in 1961 with a high of 51 degrees.
Temperatures are forecast to return to lower to mid 80s starting Monday.
Caitlin Gibbons:303-954-1638 or cgibbons@denverpost.com
