North Texas recorded one of its hottest summers in 2023

DALLAS – KERA reports that north Texans should feel some relief from the heat after the Fourth of July. Daniel Huckaby, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the persistent heat dome that set over Texas since June will break down over the top of the Dallas-Fort Worth area after the holiday. “It’s rare that it’s persistent throughout the season,” he said. “It tends to come and go over the course of the season.” Texas has recorded some of its hottest summers in recent decades. According to a report by the Texas Tribune, 19 summers since 2000 have been warmer than the 20th-century average as of 2023. In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, seven of the last 30 years have ranked among the top ten years for the greatest consecutive 100 degree days in the summertime. National Weather Service data records show that 2023 and 2022 were in the top ten years for greatest consecutive 100 degree days for the region. But one difference between this year and the past two years is rain.

While 2023 and 2022 had some of the highest number of 100 degree days in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, there was also lower precipitation in April and May of those years compared to this year. Huckaby said this year’s spring rainfall could contribute to a milder summer. “Now that’s not to say that it won’t be hot, it’s always hot here in Texas in the summertime,” he said. “But, we do tend to mitigate those high temperatures just a bit.” During this year’s heat wave, Huckaby said temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area hit 100 degrees a few times, but a lot of the days peaked at 90 degrees. “If we were in drought like we were the last couple summers, those probably would have all been triple digit days,” he said. “So that’s where the difference comes in.” However, Huckaby said the outlook is for the area to have a warmer summer than normal overall for June, July, and August due to a trend toward warmer summers. While this summer may not compare to last year — its second hottest on record — higher temperatures recorded in recent decades are still cause for concern.