Denver’s July was historically hot, but it actually wasn’t the hottest ever

If July felt like living inside a hair dryer, your sweat glands were not lying to you. Denver just logged its second-hottest July on record, missing the all-time crown by a measly 0.2 degrees.

The city averaged 78.7 degrees for the month, according to the National Weather Service, falling just short of July 2012’s record of 78.9 degrees. But where July 2026 didn’t win on average temperature, it cleaned up on sheer relentlessness: Denver hit 90 degrees or higher on 28 of 31 days — the most in any month ever recorded, breaking the old mark of 27. The “coolest” day of the month was July 23, when the thermometer topped out at a balmy 88 degrees. Practically sweater weather.

The month also delivered three triple-digit days, including a record-breaking 103 degrees on July 26 — only the 14th time in Denver history the city has reached that mark. July 25-26 gave Denver its first back-to-back 100-degree days since 2022. And August has picked up right where July left off, with Denver hitting 101 and then 102 on its first days, toppling a record that had stood since 1878.

So if you’re keeping score: Denver’s July was hotter than all but one month in the city’s recorded history, broke the record for 90-degree days, hit 103, and still came in second place.