COLORADO SPRINGS — September 2022 has produced a string of record hot days in Colorado. On the 8th, there was a record 101 degrees in Pueblo. Denver was at a record 99. Colorado Springs hit 94 degrees.
For gardeners it means extra duty. “We have to water more,” said Robin Boutilier with Good Earth Garden Center.
Only Boutilier who has been gardening for decades in Southern Colroado, is always watching the weather this time of year for sudden dramatic changes to cold.
“Ready for anything is pretty much a good motto.”
She remembers this week in September two years ago. It started with record highs in the 90s and then there was a drop within a day to an overnight low of 30 degrees.
“The sheets are folded. They're in the deck box. If I have to protect tomatoes sometime in the nest two week, I will,” said Boutilier. She keeps plant covers at the ready when fall is approaching in Colorado.
Record hot days in September do not eliminate the risk of dramatic hot to cold weather swings. “The hot days are getting hotter. It doesn't mean we can't have another quick cool down and cold front to bring us snowfall,” said News 5 Meteorologist Alex O’Brien.
September and October are transition months. O’Brien explained it is because the air stream that aligns closer to Canada through the summer is pushing down and back toward Colorado.
Day to day conditions can push it above or below Colorado. “Whether that be a really hot high pressure system or really cold low pressure and so we can get huge temperature swings,” said O’Brien.
Factors like Colorado's mountains, high altitude, and dry air also contribute to dramatic weather changes. “So we're dry, we're at a high elevation and dry air will heat and cool a lot easier than humid air,” said O’Brien.
Dramatic changes can happen in September. The weather swings are more common in October. “A lot of things make Colorado notoriously crazy in these transition months,” said O’Brien. There are also years when the cool down happens gradually heading into winter.
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