DENVER — It's time to get your shorts and flip flops out!
Denver hit an official high of 85° at 3:24 p.m. Tuesday, breaking the previous heat record for this date. That previous record high was 80° and was set in 1982.
This is also the earliest the city has ever hit 85°, according to meteorologist Chris Bianchi.
We have a chance to break another heat record on Wednesday. The current record high for that date is 79° and meteorologist Danielle Grant is forecasting Denver will get to 84°.
The normal high temperature at this time of year is 61°, according to the National Weather Service.
Many other parts of Colorado were just as hot or even hotter than Denver on Tuesday. These were the temperatures in across the state around 3 p.m.:
- Akron - 85°
- Buckley AFB - 80°
- Fort Collins - 84°
- Greeley - 83°
- Longmont - 87°
- Boulder - 84°
- Erie - 83°
- Fort Morgan - 84°
- Holyoke - 90°
- Limon - 82°
- Sterling - 88°
The warm, windy and dry conditions this week will lead to high fire danger.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the Eastern Plains starting Tuesday at noon and lasting through 8 p.m. Fire Weather Watches will go into effect for portions of the metro area and southern Colorado starting Wednesday.
According to the National Weather Service, areas along southern foothills, Palmer Divide and east-central plains are likely to have critical fire weather through the afternoon and evening on Wednesday.
We will get some relief from the heat later this week.
Clouds will increase overnight from Wednesday into Thursday, allowing temperatures to drop into the 70s on Thursday afternoon.
Temperatures on Friday drop even further, with highs in the 50s under mostly cloudy skies and rainy conditions. Look for some snow to mix in overnight on Friday and into Saturday morning before pushing eastward by Saturday afternoon.
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