How hot can it get? A look at the hottest Dallas-Fort Worth summers
Paul Ruekberg, NewsWatch Dallas
The famed Hotter'N Hell Hundred cycling race comes to Wichita Falls on Aug. 27, but "Hotter 'N Hell" weather around Texas is here to stay.
The climate of Dallas-Fort Worth is described by the National Weather Service as "humid subtropical with hot summers." Daily normal high temperatures are sustained in the 90s from June 8 through Sept. 9. An average summer also registers 16 days of triple-digit heat.
"It's not the heat, it's the humidity." You can imagine what the heat index, or feels-like temperature, was during the days of DFW's all-time highest temperatures.
If you're not acclimated, summer heat waves can be brutal here in North Texas. Below is a look at the longest such stretch of 100-degree days.
"Some like it hot." People on social networking web sites have been trying to compare the summer patterns of 2011 to the hottest summer ever in 1980. To summarize, these are the hottest years on record with the most 100-degree days.
Sultry mornings have been more common since the turn of the century. Partly to blame is the urban heat island effect where the increased air temperatures in urban areas are in contrast to cooler surrounding rural areas. Since the new millennium, four years (2000, 2006, 2008 and 2010) are among the top seven on the list of greatest annual days with 80º low temperatures at DFW.
Makes you want to take a cold plunge, huh?
Editor's note: Paul Ruekberg is a Dallas-based independent journalist covering national and local news, sports and weather tracking/climatology for Dallas/Fort Worth. He is a member of the American Meteorological Society.
