How often do temperatures hit 100 degrees in major US cities?
Here is how major cities ranked in the average number of days they experience 100-degree temperatures each year, the years when cities saw the most 100-degree days and when some cities had their hottest temperatures on record.
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Heat is the deadliest type of extreme weather, killing more Americans than hurricanes, tornadoes, flooding or lightning.
According to NOAA, heat caused an average of 164 deaths in the U.S. each year from 1992 to 2021. This far exceeds the second-deadliest type of extreme weather, flooding, which causes 88 deaths annually.
Given the significant role heat can play on American lives, the FOX Forecast Center studied 100-degree days in 50 major cities across the country.
Here is how those cities ranked in the average number of days they experience 100-degree temperatures each year, the years when cities saw the most 100-degree days and when some cities had their hottest temperatures on record.
Cities with the most 100-degree days annually
The temperature remained at 110 degrees Fahrenheit at sunset on June 15, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.
(Caitlin O'Hara / Getty Images)
No surprise, topping the list with the most 100-degree days on average is Phoenix, Arizona, which averages just over 111 days with 100-degree temperatures every year.
Also in the Desert Southwest was the city with the second-highest average number of 100-degree days: Las Vegas. The Nevada city sees an average of 78.3 days with 100-degree temperatures each year.
At a distant third was Dallas, Texas which sees about 20 days with 100-degree temperatures annually.
On the opposite end of the range were cities that experienced an average of zero days with 100-degree temperatures. Those cities include Portland, Maine; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Ohio; and Tampa and Miami, Florida.
To see if your city ranks on the list, click here.
When cities saw the most 100-degree days in one year
FILE - Man wipes the sweat off of his face after jogging.
(Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images)
Again, no surprise, all three "winners" here are in the Southwest. Phoenix, Las Vegas and Dallas swept the top three spots on the list with 145 100-degree days in 2020, 100 100-degree days in 1947 and 71 100-degree days in 2011, respectively.
In the middle of the list were cities scattered across the Midwest, Plains and Southeast.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, saw 63 100-degree days in 2011; Kansas City, Missouri, saw 53 100-degree days in 1936, and Little Rock, Arkansas, saw 47 100-degree days in 1980.
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On the other hand, there are plenty of cites where it's rare to reach 100 degrees in a summer, so their records for most 100-degree days in a year are considerably lower.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, saw nine 100-degree days in 1936; Portland, Oregon, saw five 100-degree days in 2022; Seattle, Washington, saw three 100-degree days in 2021; and believe it or not, Miami has hit 100 just once time in their history – July 21, 1942.
To see when your city saw the most 100-degree days, check out this chart.
When cities had their hottest days on record
FILE -- Woman wipes away sweat.
(Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel/Tribune News Service / Getty Images)
Of the 50 cities on the list, Phoenix rose to the top with the hottest year on record, with a temperature of 122 degrees on June 26, 1990. Coming in second was Las Vegas, which had a temperature of 117 degrees on July 10, 2021.
In third place was the city of Portland, which clocked in 116 degrees on June 28, 2021, just a couple of weeks before Las Vegas hit its hottest recorded temperature. Dallas, which ranked third in the two previous lists, was slightly further down on this list, with 113 degrees reached on June 27, 1980.
On the bottom of the list were Burlington, Vermont, which hit 101 degrees on August 11, 1944, Miami, which hit 100 degrees on July 21, 1942, and Tampa, which hit 99 degrees on June 26, 2020.
To see the full list of 50 major cities and when they experienced their hottest days, take a look here.