Local climatologists are debating the severity of last week's heat wave, when Denver tied its all-time high of 105 degrees.

Boulder climatologist Klaus Wolter says the hot spell was the hottest five-day period in Denver history.

"It was unprecedented," said Wolter, who works at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Diagnostics Center.

But State Climatologist Roger Pielke Sr. said he isn't convinced that the five-day streak was a record-setter. More study is needed, he said.

The average high temperature for the five-day period from July 19 through Saturday was 102.8 degrees. That beats all other five-day heat waves in the Denver record book, which dates to the late 1800s, Wolter said.

Second on the list was a five-day heat wave in July 1989. The average high for that hot streak was 101.8 degrees. Third was a July 1990 spell with an average high of 101.2.

The average high temperature for a five-day period is determined by adding the highs for each day, then dividing by five.

Last week's hot spell also scored highest on the five-day list when overall mean temperature for the period was considered, Wolter said.

But Pielke said his office is still analyzing the event.

"From our preliminary investigation of the data, this was not an unprecedented heat spell," Pielke said Monday in an e-mail message. "To use one site to make such a blanket conclusion is not appropriate."

Temperature records from other weather stations along the Front Range also must be analyzed, Pielke said.

Wednesday's high temperature of 105 at Denver International Airport tied an all-time city record set in 1878.

INFOBOX

A record? * 102.8 degrees: Average high temp for July 19 through Saturday, possibly a record for a five-day period.