Just how cold is the Colorado High Country this MLK weekend?
Yesterday and today, Jan. 19 and Jan. 20, were officially the coldest in five years in Summit County: negative 19 degrees Fahrenheit before dawn yesterday, negative 18 degrees before dawn today.
Last time Summit got this cold was February 2020.
We are not even close to the coldest on record. That was negative 46 degrees on Christmas Eve in 1924.
Summit County CO record cold
1. Dec. 24, 1924… -46F
T-2. Feb. 1, 1916 and 1951… -45F
T-4. 6 dates… -44F
Looking back on 114 years of record keeping (Dillon 1 E station), there have been 748 days colder than Sunday – and 318 tied with it.
Coldest dates past 25 years (with overall ranking)
T-78. Feb. 2-3, 2011… -32F
199. Feb. 4, 2011… -27F
331. Dec. 8, 2005… -24F
T-390. March 2-3, 2002… -23F
T-679. Jan. 19, 2025… -19F
But forecasters predict the coldest is yet to come. There is an extreme cold advisory tonight. Temperatures might sink even lower when the clouds disappear, like pulling a blanket off your shoulders, and wind chills could reach negative 50 degrees. Frostbite can develop in 10 minutes.
But my station says…
These readings come from the official record-keeping station only. Pockets of Summit hit the negative teens a few times every winter, including Summit Cove and high-mountain passes.
Just look at today: the uppermost weather stations at A-Basin, Breckenridge and Loveland Pass were all -19 degrees (or colder) at noon.
School, night skiing impacts
For a second consecutive day Keystone Resort has canceled night skiing tonight Jan. 20. The Outback Express and Bergman Chair never opened today.
Tomorrow, Jan. 21, Summit School District is on two-hour delay. Busses are running two hours late. Half-day preschool is canceled.