DALLAS — 2023 is officially going down in the record books.
We normally think of daily high temperatures when speaking about the dog days of summer and for good reason! 2023 has officially recorded 36 100-degree days with 21 of those being consecutive. As impressive as that sounds, this is not close to breaking records.
For that, we turn to our morning lows. It has been so warm in the mornings! In fact, 2023 has recorded 80 degrees or warmer morning lows for 34 days! This ranks fourth for the greatest number of days with minimum temperatures of 80 degrees or warmer. The top years are 2011 with 55, 2022 with 42, and 1998 with 39. The top 7 on this list have all happened within the last 25 years.
Not only is the weather pattern to blame, but studies suggest the urban heat island effect impacts overnight temperatures much more than afternoon highs.
Now, a new record has been reached. As of 7 am. Monday, August 12, DFW has broken the record for the greatest number of consecutive hours at 80 degrees or warmer.
The previous record was 358 hours during July 18 through August 2, 1998. As of noon Monday, that record is now 363.
This record is likely to keep growing as temperatures at DFW are not expected to drop below 80 degrees until after midnight Monday night.
With warmer overnight low temperatures, cooling costs can climb and sensitive groups become more susceptible to heat-related illnesses.
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