A weekend heat wave is forecast for Denver

A heat wave heading for Denver may result in a near-record streak of high temperatures this weekend.

Temperatures are expected to reach near or above 100 degrees from Saturday, July 11, through Tuesday, July 14, according to various forecast services. Some forecasts call for triple-digit temperatures on Sunday and Monday, though predictions for Saturday and Tuesday vary by the hour, ranging from the mid-90s to exactly 100 degrees.

If Denver sees three consecutive 100-degree days, it will tie for the fifth-longest streak in the city’s history. The three-day streak has only happened twice before: in June 2021 and July 2012, according to the National Weather Service. The city’s record for most consecutive 100-degree days is five, reached in July 1989, July 2005 and June 2012. There was one four-day streak in July 1990.

Any back-to-back days of 100-degree heat are rare for the Mile High City. There have only been 15 such occurrences since 1872, according to the NWS.

If the forecasts hold, this weekend will mark the city’s first 100-degree day of the year. Denver experienced just one day of triple-digit heat in 2025, on July 9, according to the NWS. In 2024, the city saw six 100-degree days, the most recorded in a single year since 2012.

Only 114 days with 100-degree temperatures have been recorded in Denver since 1872, averaging to less than one per year, according to NWS.

Forecasts predict temperatures as high as 103 degrees on Monday, July 13. That would break the current heat record for the date, which is 100 degrees and was set in 2003, according to the NWS. Sunday, July 12, could tie the date’s heat record of 102 degrees, set in 2024. 

“There is high confidence that we see multiple days of above-normal temperatures, reaching for record highs next weekend and into early next week,” reads the Denver-area NWS forecast discussion on July 6. “There is a good chance we reach Heat Advisory criteria.”

This potentially record-setting summer comes after Colorado’s record-setting hot, dry winter, resulting in ongoing drought conditions and fire risks.

There were seven active wildfires burning in Colorado as of July 6, according to InciWeb. That includes the Aspen Acres fire south of Pueblo, which has burned over 91,000 acres so far, becoming the 7th-largest wildfire in state history.

“With multiple days of hot and dry weather, fuel conditions will need to be monitored closely as this would be a recipe for increasing fire weather concerns next week, particularly if winds increase or dry thunderstorms return,” the forecast discussion adds.