What records have we been breaking?

"Today was another record-breaking day," the evening radio or television declares. High temperatures, low temperatures, floods, drought - take your choice. But how can we put these pronouncements in perspective? What do they really mean?

We present two types of information in this article: 1) an analysis of daily air temperature and precipitation for Fort Collins and 2) an analysis of annual precipitation for Fort Collins. Each analysis provides a different meaning to the statement about a record-breaking day or year.