Topline
An early summer heat wave shattered single-day temperature records throughout Texas, breaking a longstanding records in San Antonio, Austin and Corpus Christi, as forecasters warn residents to stay inside, as “dangerously” hot conditions push east.
Forecasters warn dangerous heat can cause heat stroke and fainting and advise residents to stay … [+]
Timeline
Buffalo set daily temperature records on consecutive days to start off the month (90 degrees), while Syracuse, New York, set a record at 91 degrees, and Fargo, North Dakota, set a daily record at 97 degrees, according to National Weather Service data.
Hartford also saw a daily record (94 degrees), beating a record set in 1961 by 3 degrees and Philadelphia narrowly beat a 23-year record (95 degrees), while temperature records also fell in the Midwest, including in St. Louis (93 degrees) and Detroit (90 degrees).
Miami broke a daily record with a temperature of 95 degrees—toppling a record that had stood for 12 years—while Fort Lauderdale broke a daily heat record (95 degrees).
Records were smashed across Texas during a heat wave, with new daily highs hit in San Antonio (105 degrees) and McAllen (107), while Austin tied its prior daily record of 106 degrees, according to the National Weather Service and Laredo tied an all-time record-high temperature for the city (115)—Laredo broke another daily record on June 13 (111 degrees).
Laredo and McAllen broke daily records again, at 114 and 106 degrees, respectively, while Austin set another daily record (106) and Midland broke its daily record (109).
The Florida Keys tied a daily high temperature record at 94 degrees, while St. Paul, Minnesota, broke a daily record (91), Corpus Christi, Texas, broke a daily record (100) and Houston tied its daily record (99).
Corpus Christi, McAllen and Laredo continued to break record highs (103, 105 and 114 degrees, respectively).
News Peg
An excessive heat warning was in effect last week for more than half of Texas, including Dallas, Houston, Austin and San Antonio, while heat warnings stretched north to Oklahoma, as well as Louisiana and New Mexico, bringing “dangerously hot conditions” and a heat index—how hot it feels outside when humidity is taken into consideration—as high as 120 degrees in some areas. Forecasters urged residents to stay hydrated in air-conditioned rooms, avoid strenuous outdoor activity and take “extra precautions” while outside. The heat wave is expected to expand into Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico and Oklahoma this week, bringing temperatures between five and 15 degrees above historical averages, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, though heavy rain sweeping through Louisiana on Monday could hamper the heat.
Tangent
Forecasters expect the early-season heat waves to be a sign of things to come, as a weather phenomenon called El Niño develops, bringing warmer air north, and as scientists warn the effects of climate change from greenhouse gas emissions will continue to drive temperatures upward, prolong drought conditions and make wildfires more frequent and strong. Roughly 1,500 cities and towns in the U.S. broke daily heat records over a 30-day period ending last September, as heat waves spread throughout the U.S., as well as the U.K. and southern Europe. So far this year, a heat wave in China took down single-day records in China, while in the U.K., forecasters are warning of the hottest year on record.
Further Reading
Texas Braces For Scorching Early Summer Heat Wave — Here’s Where Temperatures May Break Records (Forbes)
Sacramento And San Jose Break All-Time Heat Records: These Are The Key Record-Breaking Temperatures For Summer 2022 (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/06/26/austin-st-paul-and-miami-set-heat-records-here-are-the-record-breaking-cities-this-summer/