Wild Inversion Pushed Denver's Temperature Up 40 Degrees In 4 Hours

By Chris Spears

DENVER (CBS4) - The weather on Saturday in Denver was just one of the many reasons why I love forecasting in this state.

You probably noticed the chilly start to the day which was followed by a rapid warm up in most areas.

The crazy jump on the thermometer can be blamed on a strong temperature inversion in the atmosphere.

Cold air at the ground was trapped by much warmer air above. In fact at one point Saturday morning it was 32 degrees warmer less than a quarter mile above the ground.

Once the sun came up Saturday it started a process called convection, which is a mixing of the lower atmosphere. It only took a few hours for the warmer air to mix down to the ground.

According to the National Weather Service in Boulder, temperature swings of 48 degrees or more in Denver are rare, and have only happened 191 times since 1872.

Meteorologist Chris Spears travels weekly in the CBS4 Mobile Weather Lab reporting about Colorado's weather and climate. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.