The high temperatures here have been 90 degrees or more for three weeks, and at the end of last week we broke 100 degrees for a couple days. This hot streak has culminated in a new record for consecutive at or above 90 degrees. The previous record in Denver of eighteen days was set in 1901.
High temperatures here are not really a problem, though. In the shade, even mid-ninety degree weather is not unbearable, but the sun here is quite intense. So when I noticed that the sky had become overcast during mid-morning today I was pleased because I knew the journey outside during lunch would be better than most days recently.
When I went outside during lunch, the sky was rumbling from high-altitude lightning. On the way back from lunch, I noticed a fire — presumably started by a lightning strike — on a nearby foothill. Green Mountain was burning for at least several hours and appears to have burned right up to some homes near its base.
The image was taken at around 7pm, and the flames appear to have died down, although the hills were still smoldering.