Colorado Weather: Monday Starts Colder Than The North Pole, Slight Warmup Ahead

DENVER (CBS4) - After the coldest Valentine's Day on record in Denver, many locations on Colorado's Eastern Plains were colder than the North Pole Monday morning. Temperatures will start to trend upward later in the day as the coldest arctic air starts retreating away from the state.

The closest weather station to the North Pole reported about -29 degrees Monday morning. Several locations in eastern Colorado were colder including Crook (east of Sterling) with a morning low temperature of -33 degrees, Julesburg with -32 degrees, Las Animas with -31 degrees, and Holyoke at -30 degrees.

Denver's official low temperature Monday morning was -16 degrees which is 35 degrees below normal but not quite a record. The record low for Denver on February 15 is -20 set in 1881. Still, it is the coldest temperature in Denver since December 30, 2015 when the official thermometer for the city dropped to -19 degrees.

As the coldest arctic air of the season gradually moves east Monday afternoon, temperatures will gradually climb into the teens and a few spots could reach 20 degrees along the Front Range. Meanwhile, bitterly cold weather will continue all day on the Eastern Plains with high temperatures staying in the single digits in many areas. The mountains will once again be warmer with highs in the 20s for most mountain towns.

Looking ahead to Tuesday, Denver should briefly reach above freezing for the first time in a week. Snow in the mountains may sneak east toward Denver and the Front Range in the afternoon and evening but no accumulation is expected at this time. A somewhat better chance for snow is expected during the afternoon and evening on Wednesday. Any accumulation should be minor.