People threw Frisbees, went shirtless and guzzled water in downtown Denver as temperatures soared to a record 81 degrees during a heat wave never before recorded in the month of November.
But some people didn’t like the freakishly warm weather and were looking forward to a sharp change in the weather Monday night and Tuesday.
“I’m in a tank top. My daughter could build a snowman tomorrow,” said Monique Olguin, 27, of Denver. She added that Mother Nature is fickle.
The new monthly high for any November day was set at 12:56 p.m. Monday at 81 degrees. It broke records of 80 degrees set on Nov. 8, 2006, and tied on Nov. 16, 2016, according to the National Weather Service in Boulder.
It also broke Denver’s record for Nov. 27 by 7 degrees. The old record of 74 degrees was set in 1950, according to NWS records. Official temperatures for Denver are recorded at Denver International Airport.
“It’s kind of strange,” said Jeff Conklin, 50, who brought a camera to Civic Center park to record the unusual weather. He wasn’t fazed by the warm spell or the approaching cold front.
“Nah, I’m not worried,” he said. “It’s happened before.”
“It’s crazy warm,” said Heather Maggard, 29, of Bloomington, Ind., who has been enjoying the temperatures during a vacation this week. When told it could snow Monday night, she exclaimed, “What? Wow?”
With a cold front forecast to hit Denver on Monday night, temperatures will plummet 50 degrees and snow will fall, said Kyle Fredin, a weather service spokesman. No accumulation is expected in Denver, but between 2 and 4 inches of snow could fall in the mountains Tuesday night, he said.
Update 1: The temperature at Denver-DIA reached 81° at 12:56 pm. This establishes a record for this date exceeding 74° in 1950 & 1903. This also exceeds Denver's old November record high of 80° set on the 8th of 2006 & the 16th of 2016. #COwx
— NWS Boulder (@NWSBoulder) November 27, 2017
Sandy Hillbert, 53, who was wearing a pink summer shirt, predicted she’ll be wearing a winter coat Tuesday.
“We might need thermal underwear,” Hillbert said.
A cold front was already dropping snow in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana Monday afternoon, Fredin said.
“It’s headed our way,” he said.
