DENVER (KDVR) — Tuesday’s temperatures across the state were the reverse of what is “normal” in Colorado with frigid temperatures and snow on the plains and mild temperatures and sunshine in the mountains.
The temperature map below was taken at 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. It shows temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s in the mountains with temperatures in the teens across northeast Colorado. This is a classic example of what meteorologists call an inversion.
In simple terms, an inversion is when temperatures go up as altitude increases. This means that warm temperatures are above cold temperatures that are lower in altitude. In this case, the mountains, which are at a higher altitude than Denver and the plains, were seeing warmer temperatures than places at lower elevations.
Usually, temperatures decrease with altitude which is why the mountains are normally colder than Metro Denver and the eastern plains.
During an inversion in Colorado, cold dense air is trapped against the foothills and mountains just west of the Front Range. This creates a shallow layer of cold air near the surface that acts as a cap trapping in pollution and making skies hazy.
Inversion layers can sometimes last for several days bringing cooler than average temperatures and hazy skies to Denver before the next storm system or switch in wind direction clears out the cold air.