Hot days are stacking up. Every afternoon since June 27 the mercury has soared above 90°. The last week has been especially brutal, with every day at least to 96° and three days over 100°. So far today, we have no heat advisory.
There is not much relief in sight, with the exception of a sea breeze shower making an appearance this weekend, bringing afternoon highs to the mid-90s (the average is 94°).
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Like it or not, this is the new normal. Climate Central shows how temperatures the last fifty years have continually risen in Houston. Warmer-than-normal summer days have done nothing but increase. We’re basically getting a whole extra month of summer:
That’s SIX TIMES as many warmer-than-normal summer days since the 1970s! So the question becomes, well, just HOW MUCH warmer? I mean, it’s all relative.
The above chart shows an average of almost 4° degrees above normal since 1970, but if you look at just this decade it’s actually closer to 6°. Whether you think that is significant or not, you can’t deny the trend.
Overnight lows aren’t much help
The same goes for nighttime temperatures which, this month, have had a hard time falling below 80°. That can be alarming because we need those nights to cool down and at least give us a fighting start against the afternoon heat
Nights are tending warmer than our already warmer-than-normal daytime averages! And it’s no comfort that most of the nation is right there with us:
So what to do with this information? Concentrate on more green spaces, more energy efficiency and lowering our carbon footprint for starters. Yes, there is a lot we can do to fight back. Otherwise, we’ll just get hotter. You can read the full report at Climate Central right here.
Frank