It looks like we're in for a pretty typical July 4th this year – warm temperatures with a chance of scattered storms.
But while Mother Nature isn't planning the biggest fireworks show this Independence Day, she's definitely put on some spectacular displays in years past.
Remember just two years ago? In 2023, the Pikes Peak region got hammered with severe thunderstorms on the Fourth. They started rolling in around 12:30 in the afternoon and just kept coming. Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs saw quarter-sized hail coming down, while over at Peterson Space Force Base, they were dealing with hail the size of golf balls.
Looking at the numbers, Colorado Springs typically hits about 86 degrees on July 4th – that's the average over the last 30 years. The all-time record? A scorching 99 degrees back in 1964. In more recent memory, we hit 96 degrees in both 1996 and 2012.
Pueblo runs even hotter, averaging 94 degrees on Independence Day over the last three decades. Your record high? A blistering 104 back in 1996. But that's Pueblo for you – July gets so hot that this record doesn't even make your top 30 all-time high temperatures.
For the whole holiday weekend – July 4th through the 6th – the average high temperature in Colorado Springs was a sweltering 97.3 degrees. Even the tenth hottest holiday weekend still averaged 93 degrees. So while we'll definitely feel the heat this weekend, we're nowhere near record territory.
And in Pueblo - all of the top 10 3-day highs from the 4th to the 6th are above 100 degrees.
Wondering how often your cookout might get rained out? In the Springs, it happens about once every three years. Pueblo stays a bit drier – you only see rain about once every four years on the Fourth.
When you put it all together, this year's holiday weekend looks pretty middle-of-the-road compared to what we typically see this time of year. And that's great news if you're planning to catch some fireworks on the Fourth!
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