Summer of 2018 Climate Review

The start of "Meteorological Summer 2018" (June-July-August) was a very warm and generally dry across south central and southeast Colorado. A few weather systems, including the remnants of a tropical system moving north and east out of the Gulf of California, brought some beneficial rains  and  a brief respite in the hot and dry conditions that prevailed for much of the month of June. For the month June as a whole, well above normal temperatures and well below normal precipitation were experienced across the area. This, combined with very warm and dry conditions experienced across South Central and Southeast Colorado throughout the previous Winter and Spring seasons, helped to fuel several large and destructive wildfires across the state through out the month of June.  

July of 2018 started out very warm and dry across south central and southeast Colorado. The southwest monsoon became active across the area into the middle of the month and persisted through the end of the month, bringing widespread and beneficial precipitation to much of southeast Colorado. However, much of western Colorado missed out on this widespread precipitation. For the month of July as a whole, at and above seasonal temperatures were experienced across the area, with at and below normal precipitation recorded across the western half of the state, and at to well above normal precipitation recorded across the eastern half of the state. 

August of 2018 started out where July ended, with monsoonal moisture bringing widespread showers and storms to much of southeastern Colorado through the middle of the month, before drier air started to work into the region through the later half of the month. Similar to the previous month of July, much of Western and South Central Colorado missed out on much of this widespread precipitation throughout the month of August. Some of the widespread precipitation was also very destructive, with heavy rainfall causing several flash flooding events throughout the month, especially across the newer burn areas of Spring, Hayden Pass and Junkins wildfires. On August 6th, a very destructive and deadly storm brought baseball to softball sized hail to southwestern through southeastern portions of Colorado Springs.  This storm was responsible for the deaths of several animals at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, along with several people taken to local hospitals for hail related injuries, and hundreds of millions of dollars of damage to cars, homes and businesses across southern portions of Colorado Springs.  For the month of August as a whole, at and above seasonal temperatures and generally below normal precipitation was experienced across western portions of the area, with at to well below normal temperatures and at to slightly below normal precipitation recorded across Eastern Colorado, save well above normal precipitation recorded across the southern portions of the Southeast Plains.  

For the Summer as a whole,  above to well above normal temperatures and below to well below normal precipitation was experienced across South Central and Southeast Colorado, save for pockets of well above normal precipitation and below normal temperatures across the Southeast Plains. The following graphics indicate seasonal temperature and precipitation departures from normal across the state through out the Summer of 2018.

The preliminary average temperature for the Summer of 2018 in Alamosa was 64.3 F. This is 2.0 degrees above normal and makes the Summer of 2018 the 4th warmest Summer on record in Alamosa. This, however, remains behind the record average Summer temperature of 65.3F recorded throughout the Summer of 2011.  Alamosa recorded 2.31 inches of precipitation throughout the Summer, which is 0.42 inches below normal.  Alamosa tallied 5 days in which the high temperature topped out at or above the 90 degree mark (3 days in June, 2 days in July). This is above the period of record (86 years) mean of 2 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees in Alamosa, but remains well below the record of 20 days with temperatures at or above the 90 degree mark, set throughout the Summer of 2003.    

(click here for a more detailed Summer of 2018 Climate Summary in Alamosa)

The preliminary average temperature for the  Summer of 2018 in Colorado Springs was 70.9 F. This is 2.6 degrees above normal and makes the Summer of 2018 the 8th warmest Summer on record in Colorado Springs. This, however, remains well behind the warmest Summer average temperature of 73.3 F, recorded throughout the Summer of 2012. Colorado Springs recorded 9.14 inches of precipitation through out the Summer, which is 0.46 inches above normal. Colorado Springs tallied 26 days in which the high temperature topped out at or above the 90 degree mark (1 day in May, 12 days in June, 12 days in July, 1 day in August). This is well above the  period of record (121 years) mean of 13 days with temperatures at or above 90 degrees in Colorado Springs, but remains well below the record of 49 days with temperatures at or above the 90 degree mark, set throughout the Summer of 2012.  In addition, the high temperature topped out at 100F on June 28th, marking only the 9th time that the high temperature was at or above the century mark in Colorado Springs.  

(click here for a more detailed Summer of 2018 Climate Summary in Colorado Springs)

The preliminary average temperature for the Summer of 2018 in Pueblo was 76.5 F. This is 3.4 degrees above normal and makes the Summer of 2018, tied with the Summer of 2002, as the 6th warmest Summer on record in Pueblo. This, however, remains well behind the record average Summer temperature of 77.4 F recorded throughout the Summer of 1970. Pueblo recorded 3.74 inches of precipitation throughout the Summer, which is 2.00 inches below normal.  Pueblo tallied 18 days in which the high temperature topped out at or above the century mark (10 days in June, 8 days in July). This is well above the period or record (129 years) mean of 5 days with temperatures at or above 100 degrees in Pueblo, but remains well below the record of 28 days at or above the century mark, set in the Summers of 2012 and 2003.  

(click here for a more detailed Summer of 2018 Climate Summary in Pueblo)

Below is the Climate Prediction Center's (CPC) temperature and precipitation outlook for the Fall of 2018  (September, October and November), which indicates a better chance for above normal temperatures across all of South Central and Southeast Colorado. The CPC Fall outlook also indicates a better chance of above normal precipitation across South Central Colorado, with equal chances of above, below and near normal precipitation across Southeast Colorado.