Summer 2023 makes history as hottest on record in San Antonio
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San Antonians who sweated through this past summer won't be surprised to learn it was our warmest summer on record.
Details: June through August had an average temperature of 88.7.
- In all, 26 daily record high temperatures were broken or tied, per NOAA data. Measurements began in 1885.
Plus, this past summer was also San Antonio's fifth driest on record.
- We received just 2 inches of rain this summer — nearly 6 inches less than normal.
Why it matters: Extreme heat can cause illness or worse for vulnerable residents. The drought threatens our drinking water supply and dries out trees, changing our landscapes.
Context: The odds and severity of extreme heat events are rapidly increasing as the climate warms in response to the buildup of greenhouse gases from human activities.
The big picture: Many states had a much hotter than average summer.
- The country's southern tier stood out the most when it came to extreme heat, with communities from Miami to Phoenix smashing numerous heat records.
- A persistent area of high pressure, also known as a heat dome, stretched across the southern U.S., greatly contributing to the unusually hot conditions there.
Zoom out: This year featured the warmest June, July, August and September on record globally.
- It was also the warmest on record for nearly 5% of the contiguous U.S.
- Typically, monthly records are beaten by fractions of a degree, with such narrow margins that climate centers around the world can rank them differently, Axios' Andrew Freedman reports.
What they're saying: "While a fraction of a degree might not initially strike us as significant, even small increments in global temperatures have far-reaching consequences," Texas A&M professor of atmospheric studies Andrew Dessler said in an email.