Heat streaks are getting more common in Louisiana
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Heat streaks are becoming more common in Louisiana cities and nationwide, a new analysis finds.
Why it matters: Prolonged heat is particularly hazardous to human health.
By the numbers: New Orleans averaged two more extreme heat streaks annually between 1970 and 2024, according to a new report from Climate Central, a climate research group.
- Baton Rouge suffered the same, but Lafayette and Shreveport both averaged three more streaks during that timeframe.
- Lake Charles averaged one more, but only Alexandria showed no change in that stretch.
- Nationally, the number of extreme heat streaks rose in 80% of the 247 cities that Climate Central analyzed.
Zoom in: This summer in New Orleans, July was so hot, it's making August feel like a break.
- July's highs averaged above normal, according to the National Weather Service in Slidell.
- But so far, this month's highs have actually landed right near average, around 91 or 92, NWS says.
How it works: Climate Central defines an "extreme heat streak" as three or more days in a row with maximum temperatures over the 90th percentile of a given location's daily max temperatures during the 1991-2020 period.
- "Across the 247 cities analyzed, this temperature threshold ranged from 66°F in Juneau and Anchorage, Alaska to 100°F in Yuma, Arizona," per the report, which is based on publicly available NOAA data.
Threat level: Extreme heat's effects on the body tend to be cumulative, and warm nights offer little reprieve for those without air conditioning.
- Multi-day heat streaks are also challenging for power grid operators, given all the energy-intensive A/C use.