Saturday, June 25, 2011

Texas Toasted 2.0: All-Time Record High Temperature at Amarillo
Update: Other Records Smashed in Texas, Kansas

Image (click to enlarge): Texas high temperatures, June 26, 2011, from National Weather Service

See Record Heat for the latest updates.

June 27, 4 PM Update: Childress has now set or tied 8 daily high temperature records so far this month, including 4 consecutive days from the 16th through the 19th. There are only 2 remaining June daily high temperature records from the extreme dust-bowl year of 1934.

Only 1 June low temperature record has been set at Childress this century, 9 years ago in 2002. Only 1 was set in the decade of the 1990's also. A total of only 8 cold records have been set in the last 50 years.

June 27, Noon Update: The June average temperature so far at Lubbock, Texas of 85.4° is 1.6° above the record hottest June in 1990. Four of the last 6 Junes (2006, 2008, 2010, 2011) are now in the top 10 hottest at Lubbock, where records began in 1911.

The Childress June average temperature to date of 88.3° is over 10° above normal and 0.5° above the previous hottest June in 1953. Childress climate records began in 1893.

June 26 Midnight Update: The all-time record high temperature was also tied at Childress, Texas and Dodge City, Kansas. The Childress high also ties the all-time high for the Texas panhandle (see original post). It was the second hottest ever at Lubbock, Texas.
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 117 DEGREES WAS SET AT CHILDRESS TODAY.   
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 108 SET IN 1994. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE
TODAY ALSO TIES FOR THE ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH AT CHILDRESS. THE ONLY
OTHER TIME CHILDRESS HAS SEEN A TEMPERATURE OF 117 DEGREES IS ON
JUNE 27TH OF 1994.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 110 DEGREES WAS SET AT DODGE CITY
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 108 SET IN 1998. THIS RECORD
ALSO TIED THE ALL TIME RECORD HIGH OF 110 DEGREES FOR DODGE CITY...
WHICH WAS SET ON 29 JUNE 1998.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 108 DEGREES WAS SET AT THE GARDEN CITY
KANSAS REGIONAL AIRPORT. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 106 SET IN
1998.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 111 DEGREES WAS SET AT MEDICINE LODGE
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 106 SET IN 1918.

A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 112 DEGREES WAS SET AT LUBBOCK TODAY.
THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 111 SET IN 1994. THE HIGH TODAY ALSO
RANKS AS THE SECOND HIGHEST TEMPERATURE EVER RECORDED AT LUBBOCK
BEHIND ONLY THE ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH OF 114 DEGREES WHICH WAS SET ON
JUNE 27TH OF 1994.
June 26 Update: The all-time record high temperatures were broken again on Sunday by several degrees each: 2° at Amarillo, 5°(!) at Borger, and 2° at Dalhart. From the National Weather Service:
The high temperature in Amarillo reached 111 degrees at 350 pm on June 26th. This broke the record high temperature of 107 degrees set in 1990 and tied again in 1998. The 111 degrees sets the all time record high temperature for Amarillo. The old record was 109 degrees set on June 24th 2011.

The high temperature in Borger reached 113 degrees at 424 pm on June 26th. This broke the record high of 107 degrees set in 1998. The 113 degrees sets the all time record high temperature for Borger. The old record high temperature was 108 degrees set on June 24th 2011.

The high temperature in Dalhart reached 110 degrees at 423 pm on June 26th. This broke the record high temperature of 104 degrees set in 1998. The 110 degrees sets an all time record high temperature for Dalhart. The old record high temperature was 108 degrees set on June 24th 2011.

Original post:
It's still June, just a few weeks into meteorological summer, but the extraordinarily extreme heat in Texas continues. The National Weather Service reports:
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 109 DEGREES WAS SET AT AMARILLO ON JUNE
24. THIS BROKE THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 108 DEGREES SET IN 1990.

THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 109 DEGREES ALSO ESTABLISHES A NEW ALL TIME
RECORD HIGH FOR AMARILLO.
The old record high of 108° had been observed 4 times previously: Jun 24, 1953 and 1990 and Jun 27-28, 1998. Amarillo climate records extend back to 1892. The all time official high temperature anywhere in the Texas Panhandle was 117° in Clarendon on August 12, 1936.

All-time highs were also set at Borger and Dalhart:
The high temperature at Borger yesterday was 110 degrees. This breaks the all-time record of 108 degrees which was previously set on June 9th of 1981 and June 27th of 1998.

The high temperature at Dalhart yesterday was 108 degrees. This breaks the all-time record of 107 degrees which was previously set on June 28th of 1968 and June 24th of 1990.
So far this month, high temperature records have been set at Amarillo on:
June 7  102
June 13 106
June 16 107
June 19 104 (tie)
June 23 103 (tie)
The average temperature at Amarillo so far this month is 8.1° above normal.

See Only In It for The Gold for the local media reaction.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Louisville Tornado Confirmed EF-2, EF-1 at Churchill Downs;
Update: Tornado Count Raised to 4 5

6 PM Update: A 5th tornado has been confirmed by the National Weather Service. This storm, rated EF-0, made a brief touchdown for a minute or less in Harrison County, Indiana.

4 PM Update: Two more tornadoes have been confirmed in the Jeffersontown area, one EF-2 and one EF-1.

Original post:
The National Weather Service has updated its storm report to indicate that the tornado which damaged Churchill Downs in Louisville yesterday (June 22) reached a maximum intensity of EF-2, although it was at EF-1 when it damaged the race track:
BEGIN TIME:       8:04 PM EDT
END TIME: 8:07 PM EDT
BEGIN POINT: NEAR INTERSECTION OF LONGFIELD AVE AND BELLEVUE AVE ON
SOUTH SIDE OF CHURCHILL DOWNS
END POINT: NEAR INTERSECTION OF CRITTENDEN DRIVE AND CENTRAL AVE
EF SCALE: EF-2 (EF-1 AT CHURCHILL DOWNS)
WIND SPEED: 120 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 1.2 MILES
PATH WIDTH: 120 YARDS
INJURIES: 0
FATALITIES: 0

NARRATIVE: THE TORNADO WAS RATED AS AN EF-1 AT CHURCHILL DOWNS WITH
ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS OF 100-105 MPH. FIVE BARNS AT THE RACE TRACK
HAD LARGE SECTIONS OF THEIR ROOFS BLOWN OFF AND CINDER BLOCK WALLS
BUCKLED OR COLLAPSED. CHRIST CHURCH ON CHURCHILL DOWNS HAD SOME ROOF
AND SIDING DAMAGE. AS THE TORNADO MOVED EAST...IT STRENGTHENED TO
EF-2 INTENSITY WITH ESTIMATED WIND SPEEDS OF 120 MPH NEAR THE
INTERSECTION OF FLOYD STREET AND CENTRAL AVE. AT THIS LOCATION...A
LARGE INDUSTRIAL BUILDING WAS HEAVILY DAMAGED. NUMEROUS TREES WERE
UPROOTED AND SNAPPED ALONG THE PATH OF THE STORM. THE TORNADO LIFTED
NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF CRITTENDEN DRIVE AND CENTRAL AVE WHERE A
SUPER 8 HOTEL HAD MINOR ROOF DAMAGE. THERE WAS NO DAMAGE OBSERVED AT
PAPA JOHNS CARDINAL STADIUM.
There was a second tornado in Jefferson County which was rated EF-1:
BEGIN TIME:      9:27 PM EDT
END TIME: 9:31 PM EDT
BEGIN POINT: 2.7 MILES WEST OF DOWNTOWN JEFFERSONTOWN AT THE
INTERSECTION OF NACHAND LANE AND NACHAND SPRING LANE
END POINT: 0.9 MILES WEST OF DOWNTOWN JEFFERSONTOWN JUST EAST OF
THE INTERSECTION OF LISA LANE AND CALAIS DRIVE
EF SCALE: EF-1
WIND SPEED: 95-100 MPH
PATH LENGTH: 1.9 MILES
PATH WIDTH: 150 YARDS
INJURIES: 0
FATALITIES: 0

NARRATIVE: AT THE START OF THE PATH THE TORNADO WAS EF0 STRENGTH AS
IT DAMAGED SHINGLES AND SIDING AND SNAPPED MAPLE TREES. AT ORCHARD
LAKE BOULEVARD AND FALLEN APPLE LANE TREES WERE BLOWN DOWN AND LAID
OUT IN NORTH...NORTHEAST...AND SOUTH DIRECTIONS. THE TORNADO MOVED
INTO THE HURSTBOURNE WOODS SUBDIVISION AND RIPPED A LOCKED POOL GATE
FREE AND THREW IT OVER A BUILDING AND 35 YARDS DOWNWIND. THIS
LOCATION SUFFERED THE WORST DAMAGE WITH GUTTERS...SIDING...AND
SOFFITS RIPPED FROM BUILDINGS AND DEPOSITED 30 YARDS AWAY IN TREES.
NEXT A LARGE OAK TREE WAS UPROOTED AT 3705 MODESTO ROAD AND A
TRAMPOLINE WAS THROWN INTO A VOLKSWAGEN AND THEN OVER A HOUSE. AT
9407 WILLOW WOOD WAY THERE WAS ROOF DAMAGE AND MANY TREES...BOTH
HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD...WERE SNAPPED AND UPROOTED. THE TORNADO
BRIEFLY MADE ABOUT A 25 DEGREE TURN TO THE NORTHEAST JUST BEFORE
DISSIPATING AND CAUSING SOME ROOF AND TREE DAMAGE AT ITS END POINT.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Charleston's Earliest Triple Triple: First Time 3 Consecutive 100°+ Days in June

6:30 PM Update: The string of 100° temperatures was broken today, but the high of 98° at Charleston was enough to set a new record for June 22, surpassing the 97° in 1990.

Yesterday's (June 21) high has been corrected to 102°, which is a new record for the date.

2 PM Update: The high temperature today at Charleston is forecast to reach 100° for an unprecedented 4th consecutive day. The current temperature is 97°, up 2° from the previous hour.

Original post:
The Southeast Regional Climate Center(SERCC) reports that today's high of 100° at Charleston, South Carolina, tying the record [correction: see update above] set in 1990, represents the first time that there have been 3 consecutive days of 100°+ temperatures in June. The Sunday (June 19) high of 100° tied the record set in 1970, and the Monday (June 20) high of 102° broke the record of 100°, also in 1970. So far, there have been only 3 days this month which failed to reach 90° or above at Charleston.

Here are the previous Charleston 100° streaks, from the SERCC:
Rank # Days  End Date
1 7 7/14/1986
2 4 7/21/1986
3 3 8/01/1999
4 3 7/21/1942
The average temperature this month of 82.7° through yesterday is now tied with 1981 as the third hottest June and is 0.7° behind the June monthly record set last year. The Charleston data history began in 1938 at the current location, but Charleston city records are some of the oldest in the U.S., dating back to 1860.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Toasted Texas Salutes Summer Solstice;
Austin Smashes June Heat Records

Images (click to enlarge): Predicted high temperatures for southeastern Texas, June 20, 2011, from National Weather Service; 6-10 day temperature outlook, June 26-30, 2011, from NWS/Climate Prediction Center

See Record Heat for the latest updates.

Today's high of 102° at Austin/Camp Mabry fell short of the June 20 record 106°, but the summer solstice approaches shortly after noon tomorrow (June 21) with numerous heat records tied or broken so far this month in southeastern Texas. In the first 19 days of meteorological summer (June-August), 10 heat records have been tied or broken at Austin/Mabry and 11 at Austin/Bergstrom.

With an average temperature of 87.7° so far this month, Austin/Mabry is well ahead of the blistering pace set by the 86.6° in June 2009 which led to the hottest summer in 155 years of official weather records. The extended outlook indicates that above-average temperatures are likely to prevail through the end of the month.

The National Weather Service has compiled the following list of daily records so far this month:
AUSTIN BERGSTROM...
JUNE 3...2011.....HIGH OF 98 TIED OLD RECORD OF 98 JUNE 3...2008
JUNE 4...2011.....HIGH OF 99 TIED OLD RECORD OF 99 JUNE 4...1998
JUNE 5...2011.....HIGH OF 98 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 97 JUNE 5...1948
JUNE 6...2011.....HIGH OF 103 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 96 JUNE 6...2006
JUNE 7...2011.....HIGH OF 98 TIED OLD RECORD OF 98 JUNE 7...2008
JUNE 11...2011....HIGH OF 99 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 98 JUNE 11...2008
JUNE 16...2011....HIGH OF 102 TIED OLD RECORD OF 102 JUNE 16...1998
JUNE 17...2011....HIGH OF 104 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 100 JUNE 17...2008
JUNE 17...2011....LOW OF 79 BROKE THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 78
THAT WAS SET ON JUNE 17...2009
JUNE 18...2011....HIGH OF 105 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 102 JUNE 18...1953
JUNE 19...2011....HIGH OF 103 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 103 JUNE 19...1953

AUSTIN MABRY...
JUNE 5...2011.....HIGH OF 101 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 98 JUNE 5...1960
JUNE 6...2011.....HIGH OF 103 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 98 JUNE 6...2009
JUNE 7...2011.....HIGH OF 100 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 100 JUNE 7...2008
JUNE 13...2011....HIGH OF 101 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 101 JUNE 13...2006
JUNE 15...2011....HIGH OF 104 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 104 JUNE 15...1998
JUNE 16...2011....HIGH OF 103 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 103 JUNE 16...1925
JUNE 17...2011....LOW OF 80 BROKE THE OLD RECORD HIGH MINIMUM OF 78 THAT
WAS SET ON JUNE 17...2009
JUNE 17...2011....HIGH OF 106 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 101 JUNE 17...2008
JUNE 18...2011....HIGH OF 106 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 103 JUNE 18...2003
JUNE 19...2011....HIGH OF 105 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 102 JUNE 19...1918

SAN ANTONIO...
JUNE 6...2011.....HIGH OF 101 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 100 JUNE 6...1948
JUNE 17...2011....HIGH OF 104 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 102 JUNE 17...1934
JUNE 18...2011....HIGH OF 104 BROKE OLD RECORD OF 102 JUNE 18...1996
JUNE 19...2011....HIGH OF 103 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 103 JUNE 19...1918

DEL RIO...
JUNE 17...2011....HIGH OF 106 BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 105 JUNE 17...1951
JUNE 18...2011....HIGH OF 106 BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 105 JUNE 18...1951
JUNE 19...2011....HIGH OF 106 TIED THE OLD RECORD OF 106 JUNE 19...1996
The number of triple-digit days has now exceeded the average annual total at Austin, Del Rio, and San Antonio:
THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE NUMBER OF 100 DEGREE DAYS IN 2011 AS OF JUNE 
18TH AT AUSTIN...DEL RIO...HONDO...NEW BRAUNFELS...SAN ANTONIO AND
UVALDE.

LOCATION 100 DEGREE DAYS HOTTEST DAY
AS OF JUNE 19 AS OF JUNE 19

DEL RIO 26 106 MAY 28...JUN 17...18 AND 19
UVALDE 15 108 JUN 17...18 AND 19
NEW BRAUNFELS 11 105 JUN 18
AUSTIN MABRY 15 106 JUN 17 AND 18
AUSTIN BERGSTROM INTL AIRPORT 11 105 JUN 18
SAN ANTONIO INTL AIRPORT 9 104 JUN 17 AND 18
SAN ANTONIO STINSON 20 107 JUN 17
HONDO 18 107 JUN 18

AUSTIN...DEL RIO AND SAN ANTONIO HAVE EXCEEDED THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF
100 DEGREE DAYS IN A YEAR...WHERE THE AVERAGE PER YEAR AT DEL RIO IS
20 DAYS...AT AUSTIN MABRY 12 DAYS...AND AT SAN ANTONIO 8 DAYS.

THE TABLE BELOW SHOWS THE MOST CONSECUTIVE 100 DEGREE DAYS AND MOST
100 DEGREE DAYS OF RECORD IN A YEAR AT AUSTIN...DEL RIO...AND
SAN ANTONIO.

LOCATION MOST CONSECUTIVE MOST 100 DEGREE
100 DEGREE DAYS DAYS IN A YEAR

AUSTIN MABRY 21 JUL 12 TO AUG 1...2001 69 IN 1925
AUSTIN BERGSTROM 23 JUL 27 TO AUG 18...1951 55 IN 2009
DEL RIO 50 JUN 17 TO AUG 5...1980 72 IN 2001
SAN ANTONIO 21 JUL 24 TO AUG 13...1962 59 IN 2009

Seasonal Outlook

Latest seasonal forecast: Click here.


Latest 3-month temperature outlook from Climate Prediction Center/NWS/NOAA.