The Heat is On: A look at 100F+ temps & heatwaves in Detroit, MI

[michsnowfreak]

With talk of the heat I figured Id do a thread on 100s in Detroit. I cant recall if I did one last year or not, but figured Id just do one again lol.

Detroit has hit 100F+ just 37 times since records began in 1871. Yes, they have hit 99F numerous additional times as well, but officially, that is no more a 100F reading than a 5.9" snowfall is a 6"+ storm.

First heres a decadal breakdown. The 1930s-50s stick out like a sore thumb, and the heat of that 30-year period is probably even more impressive than the lack of snow which occurred in that same timeframe (ohhh what a field day warmingistas would have if such conditions occurred now )

...............90F+........100F+

1900s ----- 56 times --- 0 times

1910s --- 107 times --- 3 times

1920s --- 100 times --- 0 times *est due to M 1923 data

1930s --- 172 times --- 14 times

1940s --- 160 times --- 2 times

1950s --- 154 times --- 5 times

1960s --- 111 times --- 0 times

1970s --- 119 times --- 2 times

1980s --- 127 times --- 5 times

1990s --- 123 times --- 1 time

2000s --- 102 times --- 0 times

2010s ----- 64 times --- 4 times *thru 7/2012

Now for the 100s.....of the 37 times it has hit 100F+, 20 of them were exactly 100F. So here are the all-time hottest temps at Detroit, in other words the 17 times it hit 101F or greater:

105F – July 24, 1934

104F – Aug 6, 1918

104F – June 28, 1934

104F – July 8, 1936

104F – July 14, 1936

104F – June 25, 1988

102F – July 9, 1936

102F – July 10, 1936

102F – July 13, 1936

102F – July 15, 1977

102F – July 16, 1988

102F – July 4, 2012

102F – July 17, 2012

101F – July 17, 1887

101F – July 11, 1936

101F – Aug 22, 1936

101F – July 7, 1988

Now heres a look at the # of 100F+ days by year:

1887 - 1

1911 - 1

1918 - 2

1930 - 1

1931 - 1

1933 - 1

1934 - 2

1936 - 8

1939 - 1

1941 - 1

1946 - 1

1952 - 1

1953 - 2

1955 - 2

1977 - 2

1988 - 5

1995 - 1

2011 - 1

2012 - 3

Lastly, here is, in chronological order, every time it has hit 100F+ in Detroit, MI

101F – July 21, 1887

100F – July 3, 1911

104F – Aug 6, 1918

100F – Aug 7, 1918

100F – July 28, 1930

100F – July 17, 1931

100F – June 8, 1933

104F – June 28, 1934

105F – July 25, 1934

104F – July 8, 1936

102F – July 9, 1936

102F – July 10, 1936

101F – July 11, 1936

100F – July 12, 1936

102F – July 13, 1936

104F – July 14, 1936

101F – Aug 22, 1936

100F – Sep 15, 1939

100F – July 27, 1941

100F – July 19, 1946

100F – June 26, 1952

100F – Sep 2, 1953

100F – Sep 3, 1953

100F – July 27, 1955

100F – Aug 21, 1955

100F - July 6, 1977

102F – July 15, 1977

104F – Jun 25, 1988

100F – July 6, 1988

101F – July 7, 1988

102F – July 16, 1988

100F – Aug 17, 1988

100F – July 14, 1995

100F – July 21, 2011

102F – July 4, 2012

100F – July 7, 2012

102F – July 17, 2012

[Chicago WX]

Sorry for the small size, as I'm trying to fit the entire thing onto here without taking up too much space (and be under the file size limit). But here's the listing of 90 and 100 temps, by month, season, and year, for Indianapolis since 1897. With reference to chart at the bottom (average days), city data is from 1897 to 1942, and airport from 1943 to present.

[hm8]

Huh, the century mark is a lot rarer than I thought it was I guess. 34 times over 111 years, so less than once every three years

[Powerball]

As posted in the other thread, 100*F+ seems unlikely for Detroit with a good chance of cirrostratus to be in place.

[michsnowfreak]

Huh, the century mark is a lot rarer than I thought it was I guess. 34 times over 111 years, so less than once every three years

Actually it would be 34 times in 141 years! Records began in 1871. And 21 of those 34 times occurred between 1930-1955. Its actually quite rare here, heck, since 1955, only 4 years have officially seen 100F+, 1977 (2), 1988 (5), 1995 (1), and 2011 (1).

[michsnowfreak]

Oh, and great work Chicagowx! Also...I never really thought wed hit 100 Thurs, I just figured this was the perfect time for some stats

[dmc76]

I hope were not repeating the 30's again. That would suck.

[SpartyOn]

Oh, and great work Chicagowx! Also...I never really thought wed hit 100 Thurs, I just figured this was the perfect time for some stats

It's still a likely possibilty DTW , DET or YIP hits the century mark. If you wake up and we have full sun and dews mix out around 12pm then we soar really high.

[michsnowfreak]

Lastly, here is, in chronological order, every time it has hit 100F+ in Detroit, MI

101F – July 21, 1887

100F – July 3, 1911

104F – Aug 6, 1918

100F – Aug 7, 1918

100F – July 28, 1930

100F – July 17, 1931

100F – June 8, 1933

104F – June 28, 1934

105F – July 24, 1934

104F – July 8, 1936

102F – July 9, 1936

102F – July 10, 1936

101F – July 11, 1936

100F – July 12, 1936

102F – July 13, 1936

104F – July 14, 1936

101F – Aug 22, 1936

100F – Sep 15, 1939

100F – July 27, 1941

100F – July 19, 1946

100F – June 26, 1952

100F – Sep 2, 1953

100F – Sep 3, 1953

100F – July 27, 1955

100F – Aug 21, 1955

100F - July 6, 1977

102F – July 15, 1977

104F – Jun 25, 1988

100F – July 6, 1988

101F – July 7, 1988

102F – July 16, 1988

100F – Aug 17, 1988

100F – July 14, 1995

100F – July 21, 2011

Went through to find all the times it has hit 99F, as that is obviously the "youve got to be KIDDING me...SO close" temp.

Today marks the 21st time on record that Detroit maxed out at 99F (in addition to the 34 times of 100F+) since records began in 1871. So essentially, 55 times in 140 years have we hit 99F+. However I will say when scanning the data from years past, I found found tons of 95-98s (again, particularly in that 1930s-1950s era), which is in quite contrast to many recent summers when we couldnt seem to get past 93-94.

Look at 1944, FOUR times we hit 99F (and several 97/98s as well) but no 100F. That would be frustrating

99F – Aug 12, 1881

99F – July 19, 1932

99F – June 28, 1933

99F – July 25, 1940

99F – July 29, 1940

99F – July 18, 1942

99F – June 28, 1944

99F – Aug 10, 1944

99F – Aug 11, 1944

99F – Aug 14, 1944

99F – Sep 5, 1954

99F – June 27, 1971

99F – June 28, 1971

99F – July 14, 1976

99F – July 14, 1988

99F – Aug 2, 1988

99F – June 17, 1994

99F – June 18, 1994

99F – Aug 8, 2001

99F – July 2, 2011

99F – June 28, 2012

[michsnowfreak]

Just to clean it up and merge the 99s with the 100s chronologically

99F – Aug 12, 1881

101F – July 21, 1887

100F – July 3, 1911

104F – Aug 6, 1918

100F – Aug 7, 1918

100F – July 28, 1930

100F – July 17, 1931

99F – July 19, 1932

100F – June 8, 1933

99F – June 28, 1933

104F – June 28, 1934

105F – July 24, 1934

104F – July 8, 1936

102F – July 9, 1936

102F – July 10, 1936

101F – July 11, 1936

100F – July 12, 1936

102F – July 13, 1936

104F – July 14, 1936

101F – Aug 22, 1936

100F – Sep 15, 1939

99F – July 25, 1940

99F – July 29, 1940

100F – July 27, 1941

99F – July 18, 1942

99F – June 28, 1944

99F – Aug 10, 1944

99F – Aug 11, 1944

99F – Aug 14, 1944

100F – July 19, 1946

100F – June 26, 1952

100F – Sep 2, 1953

100F – Sep 3, 1953

99F – Sep 5, 1954

100F – July 27, 1955

100F – Aug 21, 1955

99F – June 27, 1971

99F – June 28, 1971

99F – July 14, 1976

100F - July 6, 1977

102F – July 15, 1977

104F – Jun 25, 1988

100F – July 6, 1988

101F – July 7, 1988

99F – July 14, 1988

102F – July 16, 1988

99F – Aug 2, 1988

100F – Aug 17, 1988

99F – June 17, 1994

99F – June 18, 1994

100F – July 14, 1995

99F – Aug 8, 2001

99F – July 2, 2011

100F – July 21, 2011

99F – June 28, 2012

102F – July 4, 2012

100F – July 7, 2012

102F – July 17, 2012

***Note, in the decades with NO 99F+ temps, the hottest temp were as follows:

1890s: 97F on Aug 31, 1898

1900s: 96F on July 17, 1904

1920s: 97F on July 21, 1926

1960s: 98F on July 3, 1966

[wxman1952]

we only got to 96 here in Saginaw, MI today. 103 was the record. 100 is record fore friday,.

[michsnowfreak]

Thanks to an article Deedler wrote several years ago on heatwaves, it was actually quite easy to find out what the top 2 longest heatwaves were.

Ironically the #1 in terms of length certainly wasnt the most unbearable on any given day compared to so many "shorter" heatwaves, but persistence was the word.

#1: 12 days…July 17-28, 1964

7-17-64: 90/64

7-18-64: 90/68

7-19-64: 91/64

7-20-64: 94/68

7-21-64: 92/65

7-22-64: 93/68

7-23-64: 91/62

7-24-64: 91/62

7-25-64: 93/65

7-26-64: 90/68

7-27-64: 95/62

7-28-64: 92/69

The 2nd longest, from the late summer of 1953, was brutal. I have some newspaper clippings on this heatwave. Temperatures inside the local jail up to 110F, reports of fish fried in water on lakes that registered water temps over 90F. Note that the the middle 9 days of this heatwave (all but the first and last day) had highs over 95F+ each day!

#2: 11 days….Aug 25-Sept 4, 1953

8-25-53: 92/64

8-26-53: 96/71

8-27-53: 95/69

8-28-53: 96/67

8-29-53: 96/71

8-30-53: 97/71

8-31-53: 97/71

9-01-53: 98/70

9-02-53: 100/76

9-03-53: 100/71

9-04-53: 91/61

The 1936 heatwave is considered the “granddaddy” of SE MI heatwaves, even though its rank for consecutive 90F+ days (7) is not near the top, it ranks as one the deadliest heatwave on record for the region, as all 7 days eclipsed 100F.

7-08-36: 104/72

7-09-36: 102/75

7-10-36: 102/77

7-11-36: 101/77

7-12-36: 100/76

7-13-36: 102/73

7-14-36: 104/69

Also here are the top 20 years with most 90F+ days at Detroit

01.) 1988 – 39 days

02.) 1934 – 36 days

03.) 1952 – 33 days

04.) 1955 – 31 days

05.) 1944 – 30 days

06.) 1931 – 27 days

07.) 1941 – 26 days

08.) 1964 – 25 days

09.) 1977 – 25 days

10.) 1991 – 24 days

11.) 2002 – 24 days

12.) 1933 – 23 days

13.) 2011 – 23 days

14.) 1936 – 22 days

15.) 1963 – 22 days

16.) 1987 – 22 days

17.) 1916 – 21 days

18.) 1949 – 21 days

19.) 1976 – 21 days

20.) 1983 – 21 days

[michsnowfreak]

I have now compiled all 6 heatwaves that featured 8+ consecutive days of 90F+. Much like every other aspect of the weather, its funny when you think about it. While looking for those 6 heatwaves, I came across numerous heatwaves in the 5-7 day range that looked more severe than, say, the 1987 heatwave of low 90s. And then several other times where we saw absolutely torrid stretches of 5 days in the mid-upper 90s followed by 1 day of 88-89F then 5 more days of mid-upper 90s, but that one day messes up what could have made it a more epic heatwave, at least for the records books.

So here are the top 6 in terms of longevity/consecutive days. The top one, as mentioned, is 11 days, and for the other five which were all 8 days, I listed them chronologically starting with the most recent. Funny most of the most infamous/historic summers here (1934, 1936, 1955, 1988, 1995, 2005) are nowhere to be found on this list!

11 days….Aug 25-Sept 4, 1953

8-25-53: 92/64

8-26-53: 96/71

8-27-53: 95/69

8-28-53: 96/67

8-29-53: 96/71

8-30-53: 97/71

8-31-53: 97/71

9-01-53: 98/70

9-02-53: 100/76

9-03-53: 100/71

9-04-53: 91/61

8 days…July 18-25, 1987

7-18-87: 91/64

7-19-87: 92/69

7-20-87: 93/73

7-21-87: 91/70

7-22-87: 92/71

7-23-87: 91/69

7-24-87: 92/70

7-25-87: 92/74

8 days…July 14-21, 1977

7-14-77: 93/59

7-15-77: 102/74

7-16-77: 90/72

7-17-77: 93/68

7-18-77: 95/67

7-19-77: 97/68

7-20-77: 97/74

7-21-77: 90/68

8 days…Aug 9-16, 1944

8-09-44: 92/65

8-10-44: 99/66

8-11-44: 99/77

8-12-44: 96/76

8-13-44: 96/63

8-14-44: 99/73

8-15-44: 95/71

8-16-44: 90/71

8 days…July 24-31, 1941

7-24-41: 95/71

7-25-41: 97/72

7-26-42: 97/76

7-27-42: 100/73

7-28-42: 94/72

7-29-42: 90/71

7-30-42: 94/75

7-31-42: 90/71

8 days…July 19-26, 1940

7-19-40: 94/66

7-20-40: 93/74

7-21-40: 95/73

7-22-40: 96/73

7-23-40: 96/73

7-24-40: 98/73

7-25-40: 99/71

7-26-40: 94/78

[michsnowfreak]

DTW hit 102F today, July 4, 2012. Hottest temp since 1988. The posts in this thread were updated accordingly.

[brettman320]

Thanks for this list. Since I was less than one year old in 1988 today was the hottest day of my life that I was able to comprehend.

[donsutherland1]

Fantastic information, Michsnowfreak and ChicagoWx.

[Stebo]

I have a feeling we will be adding to this list, Friday looks pretty likely and honestly I wouldn't sleep on tomorrow either. NAM actually has us approaching 100 before another batch of storms erupts over the area around 21z.

[mjwise]

I have a feeling we will be adding to this list, Friday looks pretty likely and honestly I wouldn't sleep on tomorrow either. NAM actually has us approaching 100 before another batch of storms erupts over the area around 21z.

86/69 today at DTW, not too far above average, actually. Whoever looks back on this month in the future is going to break their neck on the wild day to day swings from this week though. Tomorrow is on for 100 deg F though, unfortunately..

[Stebo]

86/69 today at DTW, not too far above average, actually. Whoever looks back on this month in the future is going to break their neck on the wild day to day swings from this week though. Tomorrow is on for 100 deg F though, unfortunately..

yeah rain caused today to end up short of my expectations, just west of the airport ended up at 100+ though

[mjwise]

yeah rain caused today to end up short of my expectations, just west of the airport ended up at 100+ though

The dividing line was pretty much western and southern border of washtenaw county, again. At one point it was 75 in AA and 95+ in Jackson. And the record for today was just 96, too. Tomorrow's is 100 - I don't doubt we can beat it.

For the records crowd though, today did actually pay out:

... Record daily maximum rainfall set at Detroit mi...

a record rainfall of 1.76 inches was set at Detroit mi today. This

breaks the old record of 1.09 set in 1875.

That's the kind of record breaking I like to see.

[michsnowfreak]

86/69 today at DTW, not too far above average, actually. Whoever looks back on this month in the future is going to break their neck on the wild day to day swings from this week though. Tomorrow is on for 100 deg F though, unfortunately..

Crazy how these storms have peppered the area and played havoc with temps the last few days, see below (for forecast high I used the forecast high temp for DTW as of that mornings forecast issuance).

........DTW........Mon.....Tue.....Wed.....Thu

Forecast High.....89.......95......98.......98

Actual High........94.......85.....102.......86

[michsnowfreak]

Updated the original posts to include data from this heatwave of June 27 - July 7.

While only one record temperature was set or tied the entire heatwave at Detroit (July 4th high of 102F), two more 100F+ days and a 99F have now been added to the list. The official heatwave, in terms of consecutive 90F+ days that is, lasted only 6 days officially which is just one of 24 times on record Detroit has recorded 6 or more consecutive 90F+ days. Many very closeby locations who did not see the convectively cooled air on July 3rd & 5th saw a 10 or 11 consecutive day stretch of 90F+.

6/27: 90/60

6/28: 99/67

6/29: 94/69

6/30: 95/68

7/01: 93/66

7/02: 94/67

7/03: 85/72*

7/04: 102/71

7/05: 86/69*

7/06: 98/74

7/07: 100/75

[stormtrackertf]

Excellent thread...really nice to have all of these records right here in one spot.

We might be able to tack another 100 degree day on tomorrow...the part you discussed about the lack of 100 degree days since the 50's really puts it in perspective. Quite rare to see this type of heat.

As a side note, I remember that 99 degree day in 2001 and how aggrivating it was for me, as a weather lover. At that point we hadn't had a 100 degree day since 1995, and I was hoping to see one in the '00s. As it would turn out, I would come up empty handed, as our next 100 degree day was just last year.

[michsnowfreak]

Detroit (DTW) hit 102F today, breaking the record of 101F set in 1887 (this was the oldest triple-digit record in place). Updated the list to include this 3rd 100F+ day of 2012!

This was the 20th day of 2012 to hit 90F or better (3 of which hit 100F+). This actually still leaves us out of the top 20 for 90F+ days, though with lots of time left Im sure we will make that list. #20 is 21 days, #10 is 24 days, #5 is 30 days, and #1 is 39 days...so still a long way to go to think about the top spot. However...with 3 days now of 100F+ in 2012, only 1988 (5 days) and 1936 (8 days) have had more days in the triple digits.

[Trent]

Just out of curiosity, how does Detroit's recent 102/76 day stack up against hottest days ever in Detroit? I'd imagine that 89 degree average has got to be at least top 5 hottest. I know July 10, 1936 had 102/77, which would be a half degree warmer than the other day. There's probably another hotter day or two above that, but probably not many and probably only a degree higher than the 89 average.

[michsnowfreak]

Just out of curiosity, how does Detroit's recent 102/76 day stack up against hottest days ever in Detroit? I'd imagine that 89 degree average has got to be at least top 5 hottest. I know July 10, 1936 had 102/77, which would be a half degree warmer than the other day. There's probably another hotter day or two above that, but probably not many and probably only a degree higher than the 89 average.

Hottest days at Detroit in terms of mean temp (high+low averaged)

91F – Aug 6, 1918 (104/78)

90F – July 10, 1936 (102/77)

90F – July 18, 1942 (99/80)

90F – July 21, 2011 (100/79)

89F – July 3, 1911 (100/78)

89F – July 1, 1931 (98/80)

89F – July 9, 1936 (102/75)

89F – July 11, 1936 (101/77)

89F – Aug 1, 2006 (97/80)

89F – July 17, 2012 (102/76)

88F – July 30, 1916 (98/78)

88F – Aug 7, 1918 (100/75)

88F – July 5, 1921 (98/80)

88F – June 28, 1933 (99/76)

88F – July 8, 1936 (104/72)

88F – July 12, 1936 (100/76)

88F – July 13, 1936 (102/73)

88F – Aug 4, 1944 (98/77)

88F – Aug 11, 1944 (99/77)

88F – July 19, 1946 (100/75)

88F – Sept 2, 1953 (100/76)

88F – Aug 21, 1955 (100/75)

88F – July 15, 1977 (102/74)

88F – Aug 2, 1988 (99/77)

88F – June 17, 1994 (99/76)

88F – June 18, 1994 (99/76)

88F – July 7, 2012 (100/75)

[SpartyOn]

Hottest days at Detroit in terms of mean temp (high+low averaged)

91F – Aug 6, 1918 (104/78)

90F – July 10, 1936 (102/77)

90F – July 18, 1942 (99/80)

90F – July 21, 2011 (100/79)

89F – July 3, 1911 (100/78)

89F – July 1, 1931 (98/80)

89F – July 9, 1936 (102/75)

89F – July 11, 1936 (101/77)

89F – Aug 1, 2006 (97/80)

89F – July 17, 2012 (102/76)

88F – July 30, 1916 (98/78)

88F – Aug 7, 1918 (100/75)

88F – July 5, 1921 (98/80)

88F – June 28, 1933 (99/76)

88F – July 8, 1936 (104/72)

88F – July 12, 1936 (100/76)

88F – July 13, 1936 (102/73)

88F – Aug 4, 1944 (98/77)

88F – Aug 11, 1944 (99/77)

88F – July 19, 1946 (100/75)

88F – Sept 2, 1953 (100/76)

88F – Aug 21, 1955 (100/75)

88F – July 15, 1977 (102/74)

88F – Aug 2, 1988 (99/77)

88F – June 17, 1994 (99/76)

88F – June 18, 1994 (99/76)

88F – July 7, 2012 (100/75)

We might get a couple more chances of challenging that top 91 mean temp. I say let's break it while we can.

[michsnowfreak]

Made a small correction to the original post regarding the decadal breakdown. I noticed an error I had made. When I originally compiled the list, I missed 3 days of 90F+ from May 1934 (I noticed the error when I had only marked 33 days for 1934 when it should have been 36 days, which is 2nd only to 1988).

So the decade with the most heat, the 1930s, actually had 172 days of 90F+ at Detroit, not 169. Just crazy!

[SpartyOn]

3 times in History has Detroit hit 100 in September. It's going to be hard to challenge this stat and add to it. But with the most recent trends and patterns we might get a shot.

[michsnowfreak]

3 times in History has Detroit hit 100 in September. It's going to be hard to challenge this stat and add to it. But with the most recent trends and patterns we might get a shot.

The 100F on Sept 2 and Sept 3, 1953 were the tail-end of a brutal heatwave, Detroits longest on record (11 consecutive 90F+ days, all but the first day were 95F+). And the 100F on Sept 15, 1939 by date alone sounds unbelievable. We also hit 99F on Sept 5, 1954, and surprisingly have hit 98F numerous times in September. But we basically have a 3 week window to do this, otherwise kiss any threat of triple digits good bye until next year (hopefully next decade).