If it seemed like Saturday was awfully warm in Wichita, there’s a reason. The high was 71, which set a record for the last day of January.
The old mark was 69, set in 1986.
More records could fall late this week, when another warming trend is expected.
“With any kind of downslope component and enough sun, it’s within the realm of possibility,” National Weather Service meteorologist Jim Caruso said.
By “downslope component,” Caruso is referring to what I wrote about Friday – winds coming over the Rocky Mountains and rushing down the slopes of the Front Range, which causes that air to warm up rapidly. That, in turn, leads to dramatically warmer temperatures for eastern Colorado and Kansas.