DENVER — With a heat wave gripping Colorado this week, Denver city officials are opening city recreation centers to the public to serve as cooling stations through Thursday.
Anyone will be able to access currently-open rec centers with no fee.
All Denver Public Library branches — except for the Smiley and Central branches — will also be open to the public as cooling stations.
Temperatures soared to 98 degrees in Denver Monday afternoon - way above the average high of 82 degrees for mid-June, but shy of the record of 102 degrees, set on June 14, 2006.
It's going to warm up fast today, with highs near 100 degrees this afternoon. Very few thunderstorms will develop on Tuesday. Highs will be in the triple digits across the eastern plains as well as out west in the Grand Valley around Grand Junction.
The record highs for Denver for June 15 and 16 are 97 degrees (in 1993) and 96 degrees (in 2020), so this heatwave will be one for the record books.
Conditions will begin to improve starting Thursday as temperatures will be a little less hot and rain chances will begin to increase. By the end of the week and over the weekend, cooler weather and a better chance for thunderstorms can be expected.