The temperature in Denver soared to 25 degrees Fahrenheit above average on Sunday, setting not only a record for the day, but an all-time record for the month of November. Dry and warm weather in the city since early October is raising concerns about wildfires, according to Denver 7 News.
Denver hit a high of 83 degrees Fahrenheit on Sunday, smashing the previous record high of 78 degrees Fahrenheit recorded in both 2008 and 1931. Sunday's high also broke the previous monthly record set eight years ago by two degrees. This is the type of temperature Denver is more likely to see in early September rather than early November.
"Warm, dry weather this late in the year is just setting the stage for a monster wildfire season next summer," one Facebook user commented about the new record high reported by KUSA-TV.
It's true. A long stretch of dry and warm weather in eastern Colorado has raised the risk of wildfires. Denver has only seen 0.14 inches of rain, about 13% of its average rainfall, since Oct. 1. Last month was 2.4 degrees above average, and November is now running more than eight degrees above normal. Colorado had its 19th warmest January through August period on record this year, with an average temperature of 48.6 degrees Fahrenheit, two degrees above normal.
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, nearly 10% of Denver County, home to the city of Denver, is in a moderate drought. Three other counties that contain a portion of the larger Denver metropolitan area are also experiencing drought conditions. Nearly 8% of Arapahoe County, over 6% of Jefferson County, and more than 7% of Douglas County are in a moderate drought. None of these counties was experiencing drought three months ago.
The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for northeast and north central Colorado for Monday.
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"Elevated fire weather conditions likely across the northern plains and South Park on Tuesday due to low relative humidity and gusty winds up to 25 mph," cautioned the Denver/Boulder National Weather Service Office.
The Storm Prediction Center has outlined this portion of the central High Plains for elevated fire weather conditions on Tuesday. Just north of Colorado, western Nebraska, southwest South Dakota, and a small portion of northeast Wyoming are under a fire weather watch from late Tuesday morning through late Tuesday afternoon. A combination of conditions, including winds gusting to 30 miles per hour and relative humidity levels dropping to around 12-15%, means any fires that ignite in these areas would likely spread rapidly.
There are about a dozen wildfires now burning in Colorado. The largest is a megafire now burning about 150 miles northwest of Denver. The Lee Fire has charred nearly 138,000 acres and is now 99% contained. A pair of fires, the Lee and Grease fires, were ignited by lightning nearly three months ago. They merged to become the Lee fire, growing over 100,000 acres in just eight days.
Our warming world is supercharging extreme weather events such as wildfires. Researchers in a 2021 NOAA-supported study determined that our overheating planet is the main driver of the increase in fire weather in the western United States. All 20 of Colorado's largest 20 wildfires have occurred since 2001. The three largest wildfires in Colorado have all happened within the past six years.
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