It wasn’t a record, but it was still a scorcher for late December.
High temperature today was 55 degrees Fahrenheit at the official record-keeping weather station in Dillon. Dec. 22 has not been that warm in 70 years, since 1955.
But we were not even close to breaking the record high. That still belongs to Dec. 22, 1940, when Dillon hit 60 degrees.
Summit could be just as warm tomorrow with another round of temperatures in the low 50s before we cool off Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, when forecasters predict a chance of snow with rain. Temperatures might still break into the 50s.
“The heavier snow is expected over the mountains of western Colorado with lighter amounts for the central mountains,” reads the National Weather Service advisory.
Translation: Don’t expect a white Christmas in Summit County.
Thankfully for ski resorts and other winter activities, like ice skating, the low sun angle on these shortest days of the year is protecting Summit’s lean snowpack, which remains less than half of average at local high-mountain passes.
