Category Archives: Heat

Sunday sees several temperature records fall around Kansas

29 July, 20129:44 p.m.

Wichita wasn’t alone in setting temperature records on Sunday.

Chanute’s high of 110 broke the previous record of 108 set in 1986, according to the National Weather Service. Tribune had a record high of 106, breaking the previous record from 1980 by one degree.

Russell and Salina tied their record highs, matching the 107 of 1980 in Russell and the 108 from 1940 in Salina.

Two cities joined Wichita in setting record high lows on Sunday. Russell dropped to just 75, breaking the previous mark for July 29 from 1989 by one degree. Salina’s 77 also bettered the existing record from 1979 by one degree.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Records, Temperatures | Comments Off

There hasn’t been a hotter day in more than 30 years

29 July, 20129:11 p.m.

Wichita recorded its warmest day of the summer – and one of the warmest in decades – on Sunday.

The high of 111 broke the previous mark for July 29 of 109, set in 1978.

Forecasters had to go back to the legendary summer of 1980 to find a warmer day in Wichita, National Weather Service meteorologist Robb Lawson said.

The temperature reached 111 three times last summer, and Sunday was the hottest day of this summer – so far.

“Tomorrow’s going to be pretty brutal, too,” Lawson said.

Highs on Monday expected to reach 108, thanks in part to southwest winds drawing air from the desert.

That wouldn’t be a record, however, since it reached 110 on July 30 in 1986. Nonetheless, Wichita will flirt with record highs off and on throughout a scorcher of a week.

Highs are projected to climb between 105 and 110 for the next several days, Lawson said. A strong high pressure ridge over Kansas is deflecting fronts off to the north, he said.

The next chance for showers and temperatures not in the triple digits won’t arrive until next weekend, Lawson said.

Wichita didn’t just set a record high Sunday, it set a record low temperature as well – a record high low temperature, that is. The low of 83 easily surpassed the previous high low of 80, set more than 70 years ago in 1940.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Forecast, Heat, Records | Comments Off

Showers settle some dust in the Wichita area and double the rainfall total for July

26 July, 20127:42 a.m.

Chances are you slept through it, but Wichita finally got a bit of rain overnight.

The official rainfall of .13 doubles the city’s total for July, National Weather Service meteorologist Leon Wasinger said.

That also knocks 2012 well down the list of driest Julys on record – not that anybody really minds.

“Julys have been known to get dry” in Wichita, Wasinger said.

Coincidentally, the wettest day of the month was also the hottest: the high of 108 topped the previous record of 105 set in 1964.

The thermometer used for official temperature readings sits in a grassy strip between runways at Mid-Continent Airport, and Wasinger said swirling winds pushed air superheated by the asphalt runways over the temperature sensors and gave readings a bit of an artificial boost. The high at NWS offices about a half-mile away was 105.

Such boosts are rare, he said, but they can happen if the wind is blowing just right.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Rain, Records | Comments Off

Wichita hits 106, sets record

25 July, 20123:25 p.m.

There haven’t been many records set in Wichita during this heat wave.

That changed Wednesday, when the thermometer hit 106. That broke the existing record for July 25 of 105, set in 1964.

This is the 9th straight day of 100s for Wichita, raising the total for 2012 to 23.

That’s still 7 less than last year through July 25, but it’s nearly double the average annual total of triple digit days in Wichita. That number is 12.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Records, Temperatures | Comments Off

The drought strengthens its grip on the Wichita area

25 July, 20128:17 a.m.

Storm chaser Brandon Ivey has turned his camera in a new direction this summer, chronicling the drought that is gripping the Great Plains.

Here is some video he shot in the Wichita area just a few days ago.

Wichita has recorded just .11 of an inch of rain in July, making this July one of the driest on record in the city. A brief, intense rainfall that struck downtown last Thursday all but missed the official recording site next to Mid-Continent Airport in west Wichita.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Drought, Heat | Comments Off

100s are piling up for Wichita

23 July, 20127:50 a.m.

Sunday marked the sixth straight day of triple-digit heat in Wichita and was also the 13th 100 of the month.

That’s still not the longest streak of the summer, though. There were seven consecutive 100-degree days to close out June. If the forecast holds, however, this current string will stretch for a few more days.

There have been 20 100s in Wichita so far this year. The highest temperature of the current heat wave in the city is the 106 of July 18 and July 20, according to the National Weather Service.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Temperatures | Comments Off

A vigorous thunderstorm pops up over the Wichita metropolitan area

19 July, 20122:07 p.m.

If Wichita residents were surprised by the thunderstorms that popped up over the metropolitan area and dumped rain over the noon hour, they shouldn’t have been.

My story about the arriving heat wave on Tuesday included the following:

There’s nothing unusual about the weather pattern settling in over the Great Plains. These domes of high pressure are common this time of year, she said. They push the jet stream north and deflect weak storm systems away from Kansas.

Scattered, isolated “pop-up” thunderstorms can still form and dump even heavy rain on small areas, she said. But they won’t be enough to provide much relief.

“It’s very isolated and very widely scattered,” Pearce said of any potential shower activity.

How isolated? The official total out at the National Weather Service office next to Mid-Continent Airport was .02. But downtown Wichita was pounded for more than half an hour, so rainfall totals will be considerably higher downtown and elsewhere in Wichita.

The lunchtime storms dropped temperatures about 10 degrees, Pearce said.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Rain | Comments Off

2012 poised to climb chart of 100-degree days

17 July, 20129:39 a.m.

As another heat wave clamps down on the Great Plains, Wichita can expect to see the number of triple-digit days this summer to jump the rest of this month.

At this point, 2012 ranks fifth in the number of 100-degree days through July 15.

1. 1980 22
2. 2011 21
3. 1990 18
4. 1933 18
5. 2012 14
6. 1978 14
7. 1954 14
8. 1953 14
9. 1936 14
10. 1934 14

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Records, Temperatures | Comments Off

Hill City sizzles again on another record-setting day

28 June, 20129:47 p.m.

More heat records fell across Kansas again on Thursday, and once again Hill City led the way.

The small northwest Kansas town topped the charts in the state for the fifth straight day, reaching 111 on Thursday. That broke the record for June 28 of 110, set way back in 1933.

Dodge City set a new record of 108 for June 28, topping the old mark of 105 first set in 1990 and matched in 1998.

Tribune reached 106, breaking the old record set in 1968 by one degree. Topeka also climbed to 106, which tied the record set in 1936.

Colby tied its record high for June 28 of 105, set in 1933.

Salina set a different kind of heat record on Thursday, the National Weather Service reported: the overnight low was a steamy 81 degrees, breaking the previous high minimum temperature record of 78 set in 2005.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Records | Comments Off

More record highs across Kansas Wednesday – including Dodge City’s all-time high

27 June, 20129:55 p.m.

For the second day in a row, Hill City hit 115.

That shattered the old record for the day of 107, set in 1940. It tied the record for hottest day in June, set … yesterday.

Meanwhile, Russell reached 113 on Wednesday. That broke Russell’s previous record high for June 27 of 107, set in the sizzling summer of 1980.

Goodland and Colby also broke records. Goodland’s high of 110 bested the 106 from 1940, and Colby’s 112 toppled the 106 from 1940.

Meanwhile, in southwest Kansas, Dodge City recorded its highest temperature since the forerunner of the National Weather Service began keeping records in 1874. The 111 on Wednesday broke the previous mark for June 27 of 107, set in 1980.

Dodge City has recorded temperatures of 110 as recently as Tuesday and also on June 28, 1998 and on June 26, 2011.

Over in Garden City, the high of 109 erased the record of 106 set in 1979, and Medicine Lodge’s 109 bested the previous record of 107 set on this date in 1980.

By Stan Finger | Filed under Heat, Records | Comments Off