HOUSTON – The cover above is of TUFF the bulldog and arrived in my email back in 2011 from Greg Smith: We had just finished a crawfish boil celebrating Will getting his Private Pilot certificate. It was well over 100 and we dumped a cooler of ice on the tarmac. Tuff laid there until the ice was gone!
We’re already finding this June heat to be pretty “tuff,” and if you follow me, then you know I love climate data. I went to research a bit about our Junes and looked back from 1990 to 2022 (30 years is a solid record for tracking climate data). Here is what I found based on June numbers from Bush/IAH:
WE DON’T HIT 100° THAT OFTEN IN JUNE
Since 1990, we’ve only had eight Junes with the century mark--so about a third of the time. Those years are as follows along with how many days hit 100° or higher.
1990: one day with a high of 100°
1998: two days with a high of 102°
2006: one day with a high of 100°
2009: seven days (!) with a high of 104°
2011: six days with a high of 105°
2012: three days in a row with a high of 105°
2013: two days with a high of 107°
2022: five days with a high of 102°
I am convinced that Hurricane Ike in September 2008 changed our climate for at least a period. We dried out and we heated up just after that, with our unbearable drought the summer of 2011. If you look at those summers reaching 100° or higher, you can easily find 2009 to 2013 putting 2011 smack in the middle. We simply had a five-year drought! It happens.
Interestingly, that 2009 year takes the baked cake with a week of consecutive 100+ afternoons, June 23-29, ranging from 101-104°. June of 2011 (that drought year) wins as the earliest 100-degree day in June as we soared to 102° on June 2nd! We should have known what was coming!
And that June all-time record of 107° on June 29, 2013? Kevin and I were honorary grand marshalls of the Houston Pride Parade that year--we were just proud to survive the heat that evening!
From 2014 to 2021 we were century-free, so to speak, and then last year let loose again for a couple of days. In fact, 2022 was our warmest June on record, but this one we’re in currently may end up beating that. Stay tuned and stay hydrated. Our summer has just begun!
Frank
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