This summer, the South and Southwest have experienced a continuous series of heat waves, causing significant disruption. Daily temperature records have been consistently broken in various locations. In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, seven consecutive records were shattered.
As record heat scorches the Sun Belt, we’ve compiled a list of record highs from the last two weeks.
August 6: On August 6, New Orleans broke its fourth consecutive daily temperature record at 100 degrees. Similarly, Phoenix tied its daily record at 114 degrees, and Key West, Florida, broke its daily record at 94 degrees.
August 5: August 5 witnessed another daily heat record in New Orleans at 100 degrees, while Phoenix reached a daily record of 116 degrees.
August 4: On August 4, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, broke its seventh consecutive daily temperature record at 101 degrees. Meanwhile, New Orleans encountered a new record high of 99 degrees.
August 3: August 3 saw Tucson, Arizona, setting a new daily temperature record at a scorching 105 degrees, while Phoenix, experiencing an unprecedented heat wave, hit a daily record of 113 degrees. Tampa, Florida, recorded a new daily heat record at 95 degrees, and New Orleans shattered its daily heat record at 98 degrees. Additionally, Corpus Christi, Texas, and Lafayette, Louisiana, both broke records at 101 degrees, while Little Rock, Arkansas, established a daily record of 103 degrees.
August 2: On August 2, Dallas tied its daily temperature record at 107 degrees, equaling the previous record from 2011. Austin, Texas, broke its daily temperature record at 105 degrees, and Houston tied its daily record at 101 degrees. Furthermore, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, surpassed its daily high at 102 degrees.
August 1: August 1 witnessed several cities in Texas, including Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, and Waco, breaking their latest daily temperature records this summer. Temperatures soared to 103 degrees in Austin, 102 degrees in San Antonio, 107 degrees in Dallas, and 106 degrees in Waco. Moreover, Little Rock, Arkansas, experienced a daily high of 94 degrees, while Baton Rouge reached 104 degrees—making it the hottest day in Louisiana’s capital city since 2007.
July 31: On July 31, New Orleans and Baton Rouge in Louisiana experienced their highest daily temperatures on record, with New Orleans reaching 101 degrees and Baton Rouge hitting 102 degrees. This was the hottest day in New Orleans since 2009.
July 30: On July 30, Phoenix had its 31st consecutive day with a high temperature above 110 degrees, breaking the previous record of 18 days. Baton Rouge also set a daily record of 100 degrees, while Austin, Texas, surpassed its previous daily high of 107 degrees.
July 29: On July 29, Baton Rouge set another daily temperature record at 101 degrees.
July 27: On July 27, Anaheim, California, recorded its second consecutive daily record high at 99 degrees. Rapid City, South Dakota; Baton Rouge, Louisiana; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and St. Paul, Minnesota, also broke their respective daily temperature records with temperatures of 101, 99, 96, and 95 degrees respectively.
July 26: On July 26, Phoenix broke its latest record daily high at a scorching 118 degrees, surpassing the city’s previous record of 116 degrees. Anaheim, California; Corpus Christi, Texas; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; El Paso, Texas; and Santa Fe, New Mexico, also set daily records with temperatures of 100, 102, 104, 108, and 99 degrees respectively.
July 25: On July 25, Phoenix once again shattered another daily record high, reaching a blistering 118 degrees. Tucson, Arizona, also recorded its 10th daily record high this month, with temperatures hitting 112 degrees.