Colorado Went from 90+* to 35* in 12 Hours

...And we thought our temperature swing was abrupt in Iowa!

On Labor Day afternoon, Denver, CO, saw a high temp of 92*. That was just three degrees away from tying the record high. (It was a record-high 97* on Sunday)

Then...things rapidly changed.

As of 5 AM Tuesday, the temperature was 35* -- setting a new RECORD LOW. Still, that doesn't come close to the biggest temperature swing in history for Denver. In 1872 it went from 46* to -20* in one day.

In Pueblo, CO, it hit 94* at 5 PM on Monday and then plummeted to 47* by 5AM Tuesday. That's a 47* temperature swing in half a day.

Summer to Winter in just over 12 hours. Ouch.

Closer to home; Des Moines reached 93* on Sunday and Tuesday's forecast calls for a high of only 53*. If that forecast holds up, it will break the record for the "Lowest High" Temperature of 58* set in 1885!

Waterloo and Cedar Rapids will also most likely break that same record. It was only 58* in 2008 in both cities.

Back to Colorado, the earliest snowfall on record in Denver occurred on September 3rd 1961 when 4.2" had fallen. The area surrounding Westcliffe is expecting 8-12" this week:

Credit: NWS Denver