This summer has been a scorcher in Southern Colorado, and last month was no exception!
Up until the last weekend of August, we were on pace to set an all-time record for the hottest August ever in Colorado Springs.
Following a few cooler days late in the month, we came up short of that record by a mere 1/10 of a degree.
The year that tops the list belongs to 2011. In August of that year, the Colorado Springs Airport reported an average monthly temperature of 74.1 degrees.
Not to be outdone, in 2020 (this year) we came in second on this list, with an average monthly temperature of 74.0 degrees.
This by the way takes into account each days high and low temperature for the entire month.
As you can see, most of these recent records have occurred this century, with 2019 and 2007 also ranking in the top-5.
Now let's take a deeper look into the month of August.
Our average high temperature this past month for Colorado Springs was nearly 90 degrees. That's eight degrees above the normal 30-year high for August, which is 81.6 degrees.
All but three days on this calendar are shown in red, indicating above average highs. Our hottest day come on August 11th, when we soared to a new record high of 96 degrees, also our hottest day of the year.
Cooler days indicated in blue were few and far between, with only three below average days in August in Colorado Springs.
Pueblo also saw a toasty August, with seven days in the 100s, and an average monthly high of 95.9 degrees. Compared to the 30-year average of 89.4 degrees, we ended up 6.5 degrees above that.
Although the second hottest month of the year, Pueblo only saw relief a few times in August when temperatures were allowed to drop below the 90-degree mark.
