It didn’t take long for summer to scorch Colorado — with record temperatures Tuesday, the second day of the season.
The high temperature at Denver International Airport climbed to 98 degrees, one degree shy of the city record for June 21.
Other Colorado cities, including Colorado Springs and Boulder, did set records.
Scant cloud cover in Denver and northeastern Colorado contributed to the toasty temperatures, said Natalie Gusack, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Boulder.
“We have a strong upper-level ridge remaining in the region Tuesday and Tuesday night,” Gusack said. “There’s also a lack of cloudiness. That’s adding to it. The sun is beating down on us and the ground with no clouds to cover.”
The all-time high temperature in Colorado Springs for any day was tied Tuesday, when the mercury rose to 101, according to the weather service. In Boulder, the record for the June 21 had been 97, set in 1922. It toppled when the temperature hit 99 degrees.
High temperatures elsewhere in the state Tuesday topped 10, including Grand Junction, Rifle, Erie, at 100; Burlington, 101; Greeley, 102; Delta 103; Longmont, Pueblo and La Junta, 104; Lamar, 107.
People should “drink lots of water and stay hydrated” to beat the heat, Gusack said. Staying indoors or in the shade, if possible, is also a good measure.
The extreme heat Tuesday in northeastern Colorado is expected to back off a bit Wednesday, when high temperatures are expected to be in the upper 80s. Thursday’s high temperature in Denver should be near 90, with a high in the mid-90s on Friday.
