July 2024 was the hottest month in recorded world history, continuing a streak of record-breaking temperatures spanning more than a year.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationThe global average temperature in July was 2.18 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. It was only 0.05 degrees warmer than July 2023 – now the second hottest month on record.

However, the western regions of Colorado were largely spared from the record-breaking heat waves in the USA, which were concentrated on the west coast and the southwest of the country.

In the central and northern mountain regions, “temperatures in July were pretty close to normal – maybe a touch below,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Bernie Meyer.

In Dillon, for example, the average temperature recorded was 55.8 degrees, just below the 56.6 degrees considered normal, said Meyer, who works from a station in Boulder.

However, the month was also drier: The Dillon station recorded a total of 3.5 centimeters of rainfall in July, slightly less than normal, Meyer said.

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Colorado’s western slope was hotter and drier than normal, but no records were broken, said Megan Sanders, a National Service meteorologist in Grand Junction.

At eight of the 10 weather stations in the western half of the state, which includes areas west of Vail Pass, temperatures ranged from half a degree to nearly four degrees above normal, Sanders said.

The largest temperature fluctuations were in the Four Corners region of southwest Colorado. “Along the I-70 corridor, temperatures were mostly within the normal range,” Sanders said.

Most stations reported below-average rainfall. One station near Rifle, for example, recorded rainfall amounts nearly three-quarters of an inch below normal.

The hottest days of the month came during a heat wave in mid-July. In Grand Junction, for example, temperatures exceeded 104 degrees between July 12 and 14, although they did not exceed the highest temperature ever recorded of 105 degrees, Sanders said.

During that period, temperatures at the Dillon station reached 29 degrees, “which is pretty warm for a place that has never recorded a 32-degree day,” wrote Russ Schumacher, director of the Colorado Climate Center, in a July 23 blog post.

“On average across the state, it was the 14th hottest four-day heat wave since 1951,” Schumacher said. specified.

As human-caused emissions continue to warm the planetExtreme heat waves are more common in Colorado, although not necessarily more extreme, Schumacher said. specified.

“Record-breaking events are very rare even in a warmer climate, and when air masses aloft are hot enough to have the potential for record-breaking heat, they often have just enough moisture to produce clouds and storms that lower surface temperatures by a degree or two,” Schumacher said. explained. “Instead, we are seeing a steady increase in heat: heat waves that were rare in the 20th century are now becoming the norm.”

For the rest of August, the heat may be mitigated by persistent monsoon conditions with heavy thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, although there is still a chance of temperatures being above average.

According to the 8- to 14-day forecast of the Climate Prediction CenterColorado’s mountain and Western Slope regions have a 50 to 60 percent chance of above-average temperatures through August 26. At the same time, these regions have a 33 to 40 percent chance of above-average precipitation..

Persistent rain showers led to an increase in humidity and a slight drop in daytime temperatures last week. Meteorologists attributed this mainly to the monsoon season, when moist air from the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California is drawn north toward the southwestern United States, including Colorado.

“Typically, monsoons start to subside in late August and September,” said Meyer, the Boulder station meteorologist, adding that this year’s pattern is slightly delayed and may be weaker than usual.

“But we still have two-thirds of August ahead of us,” he said.