Denver breaks a 119-year-old temperature record by hitting 82 degrees on March 20

On Friday, Denver broke a 119-year-old temperature record when it reached 81 degrees and then quickly jumped to 82 degrees. The old record for March 20 was 80 degrees set in 1907. 

The thermostat was expected to climb even higher on Friday afternoon. 

It's the latest in what is expected to be a series of record-breaking temperatures during this week's heat wave. 

Denver smashed the all-time record high for the month of March on Thursday, which was 84 degrees. The thermometer officially reached 85 degrees at the National Weather Service monitoring station at Denver International Airport on Wednesday afternoon.

Denver broke a 119-year-old record high for March 19. The old record high temperature for March 19 was 81 degrees, set in 1907. The Mile High City broke that record when the temperature climbed to 82 in the middle part of the afternoon.

More record highs are projected to bite the dust this week before our heat wave comes to an end. 

Saturday will be the hottest day of the multi-day stretch with a forecasted high in the upper 80s. The record for Saturday is 78 degrees, last set in 1995.

The prolonged heat wave is being caused by a slow-moving, intense high-pressure dome. Ridges of this magnitude can be enhanced by La Niña, sometimes creating a stagnant period of record high temperatures as sinking air compresses and increases heat.