Topline
A heat dome brought dangerously high temperatures and the first heat wave of the season to parts of California, Nevada and Arizona over the past week, while heat records also throughout the South and in New England, as forecasters warn residents to seek air-conditioned rooms and avoid strenuous activity.
Timeline
June 6Phoenix broke its daily record high when it hit 113 degrees—marking the hottest day of the year to date and beating the prior record by 2 degrees.
June 6Las Vegas broke its previous record high, hitting 111 degrees according to the National Weather Service, and it also tied the record for the earliest day above 110 degrees.
June 4For the third straight day, Tampa broke a daily heat record, peaking at 98 degrees, while San Antonio, Texas, saw a daily record of 103, and Brownsville, Texas, hit a daily record (99), according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
June 3Tampa broke a daily record high for the second straight day (94 degrees), while some cities in New England also broke records, including New Haven, Connecticut (83), and Manchester, New Hampshire (86).
June 2Tampa broke another daily heat record, at 96 degrees, while records continued to fall in Texas, with Brownsville breaking its daily record at 99 and Corpus Christi tying its daily record (96).
June 1Fort Lauderdale, Florida, broke its daily record high at 98 degrees, while Key West tied a record at 90.
May 31Las Vegas, Nevada, tied its daily record high temperature of 104 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, which warns residents to prepare for “dangerous” heat early next week.
May 31San Juan, Puerto Rico, broke its previous daily high of 93 degrees, recording a daily high at 94 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
May 30Fort Lauderdale and Tampa, Florida, both broke daily high temperatures, at 96 and 100 degrees, respectively, while Orlando tied its daily record of 96.
May 29Tampa set a new daily record at 97 degrees, while Orlando set a new record (97 degrees), Fort Lauderdale broke its daily record (96), while Miami (94) and Key West (92) tied their daily records.
May 29New Orleans also broke a daily record with a high of 94 degrees, while in Texas, McAllen set its latest record at 101 degrees—its sixth consecutive daily record temperature.
May 28Fort Lauderdale, Florida, broke its daily heat record by four degrees, with temperatures peaking at 95 degrees.
May 28New Orleans tied its all-time daily record for May 28 at 96 degrees, while multiple cities in Texas broke their daily records, with Brownsville hitting a high of 100, Corpus Christi maxing out at 96 and McAllen hitting its fifth straight daily record high at a blistering 102 degrees.
May 27McAllen, Texas, saw its fourth consecutive new daily record with a high of 101 degrees, while in Florida, Fort Lauderdale set a record for the city at 99 degrees.
May 26Daily temperature records fell across south Florida on Sunday, including in Miami (96 degrees), Fort Lauderdale (96 degrees) and West Palm Beach (95 degrees), with each city breaking its old daily high by two degrees.
May 26Brownsville, Texas, tied its latest in a string of daily records at 98 degrees on Sunday, making it the hottest daily high since 1928, while McAllen, Texas, set a daily high at 103 degrees, and Dallas set a new daily record at 98 degrees.
May 25A handful of Texas cities saw new daily heat records as the heat wave continued, including McAllen (100) and Brownsville (99), while Fort Worth tied its daily record, at 95 degrees.
May 25Across the South, Texarkana, Arkansas, also tied its daily record (93), while Baton Rouge, Louisiana, set a new daily high (95).
May 24Del Rio, Texas, tied its daily and monthly record temperature at 109 degrees on Friday, before topping its monthly record again at a high of 112 degrees on Sunday, the third hottest day ever recorded in the south Texas city, according to the National Weather Service.
May 24The cities of Brownsville and McAllen, Texas—on the Mexican border—both set daily records at 100 and 102 degrees, respectively.
May 24Pittsburgh tied its daily record, with an 84 degree reading at the Pittsburgh Allegheny County Airport.
What To Watch For
Forecasters believe record heat will also drive up the number of named tropical storms and hurricanes in the Atlantic this year. Last week, meteorologists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted the upcoming 2024 season will bring a record 17 to 25 named storms, including up to 13 hurricanes, with four to seven of those intensifying into category 3 hurricanes (maximum sustained wind speeds of 111 mph or greater). If that prediction holds up, it would far outpace the yearly average of just over 14 named storms observed over the past 30 years, and potentially outnumber the busy 2023 season, which brought 19 named storms and seven hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season officially starts June 1.
Surprising Fact
While the South cooked in blistering Memorial Day weekend heat, other parts of the country were nailed by severe storms, tornadoes, snow, fire conditions and in some spots, saw seasonably cool weather. A parade of major storms and tornadoes swept from northern Texas to the Appalachian Mountains on Sunday, killing at least 21 people and injuring over 100 more in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky, causing a trail of widespread devastation and leaving over 250,000 homes and businesses without power.
Tangent
The NWS’ Austin/San Antonio branch warned people to avoid strenuous activity, drink water “even if not thirsty,” avoid leaving kids or pets in unattended vehicles and take breaks in air-conditioned rooms or in shade during the Memorial Day heat wave.
Further Reading