DENVER (KDVR) — The National Weather Service recorded 71 degrees at the Denver International Airport on Wednesday, marking the first day of the year with a high temperature in the 70s.

Denver usually reaches at least 70 degrees by March 9, even though March is the snowiest month of the year for the Mile High City. But this year, it has taken a record-long time to get there.

Wednesday marks the longest it has taken to hit 70 in Denver since weather observation records began at Denver International Airport in 1995.

Before Wednesday, the warmest temperature recorded in Denver so far this year was 69 degrees on March 2. There have been multiple days in the upper 60s since then, but it didn’t reach the 70s until 2:40 p.m. Wednesday when the NWS recorded 71 degrees at DIA.

It hasn’t taken this long for Denver to hit the 70-degree mark since 1983, according to historical NWS records, when the first day in the 70s finally came around on April 18.

Here are the first and last days in the 70s since recordkeeping began at DIA:

YearFirst 70-degree dayLast 70-degree day
1995Feb. 21Nov. 26
1996March 10Nov. 19
1997Jan. 2 Oct. 18
1998March 24 Dec. 2
1999March 15 Nov. 17
2000March 05 Oct. 21
2001April 1Nov. 5
2002Feb. 23 Nov. 22
2003March 13 Oct. 29
2004March 09 Nov. 07
2005Jan. 20Nov. 11
2006Feb. 27 Nov. 22
2007March 12 Dec. 04
2008March 1Nov-18
2009Jan. 21Nov. 12
2010March 30 Dec. 14
2011March 11 Oct. 31
2012March 6Nov. 21
2013March 15 Nov. 13
2014March 9Nov. 29
2015Jan. 26 Nov. 3
2016Feb. 18 Nov. 16
2017Feb. 10 Nov. 27
2018March 2 Oct. 29
2019March 26Nov. 9
2020Feb. 2March 15
2021March 7 Dec. 2
2022March 2 Nov. 8
2023Mach 15 Dec. 6
NWS data

The latest Denver has ever had its first 70-degree day was April 24 (1884), and the earliest day in the 70s was on Jan. 2 (1997).

The 70-degree mark doesn’t necessarily mark an end to winter weather for the year. According to the NWS, Denver normally gets 8.6 inches of snow in April.

Denver needs to receive over 18 inches of snow in April and May combined to meet the annual average. The last time Denver got that much snow in those two months was in 2013.