Denver Drops 72 Degrees In 40 Hours, Lands In All-Time Top Temp Swings
By Chris Spears
DENVER (CBS4) - Sitting at a mile above sea level and in the shadow of the Rocky Mountains, Denver is known for having an extreme climate. But the most recent temperature swing ranked as one of the biggest ever observed.
According to the National Weather Service in Boulder, after a high of 69°F at 2:27 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 18) Denver's official low hit -3°F just over 40 hours later at 6:45 a.m. on Tuesday (Feb. 20).
The 72 degree drop tied for the 8th biggest swing ever noted in a period of two days or less. It also landed in the top 20 biggest temperature swing events for Denver since records began in 1872.
Remember when it was close to 70 yesterday? Major temperature difference from Sunday. There isn't even a color contour to depict this massive change! Stay warm! #cowx pic.twitter.com/rVIN5gyjYK
— Lauren Whitney (@LaurenCBS4) February 19, 2018
By the way, neither the 69°F high or the -3°F low were new daily records but they were close. Sunday's record high was 73°F set in 2016 and Tuesday's record low was -5° set in 1955.
Oddly enough it was the second time in just four months that such an extreme temperature swing was observed.
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In October 2017 the temperature dropped 71 degrees between the 25th and 27th.
Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.