By Shelly Bradbury
The Denver Post
It’s a record-breaking scorcher, Denver.
Afternoon temperatures soared to 100 degrees Wednesday, shattering the previous daily high record for July 28. That record was set July 28, 1876 — just days before Colorado became a state.
The thermometers topped out at 98 degrees on that hot day in Denver 145 years ago, but the city blew by that record Wednesday with its fifth 100-degree day of the year.
And if you’re counting annual 100-degree days — the National Weather Service sure is — you’ll find that 2021, with five such days, is now tied with 1990 and 1989 for the third-most 100-degree days in a year.
“And we still have August to go,” National Weather Service meteorologist Russell Danielson said. “We could hit another one.”
The city recorded seven 100-degree days in 2005 and a whopping 13 in 2012.
The heat will continue Thursday and Friday, Danielson said, with highs in the mid- to upper 90s, before dropping off during the weekend. Saturday is expected to reach 81 degrees, and Sunday will top out at just 79. Shelly Bradbury: 303-954-1785, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or @shellybradbury