Summer flip-flop: Seattle ends up with more 100° days than Houston
The historical heat wave that blasted the Pacific Northwest in late June and brought rare well-beyond-triple-digit heat to the region has turned some traditional summer weather statistics upside down.
Sun sets on a warm evening in Seattle.
(Sigma Sreedharan Photography)
SEATTLE -- The historic heat wave that blasted the Pacific Northwest in late June and brought rare well-beyond-triple-digit heat to the region has turned some traditional summer weather statistics upside down.
For example, Seattle managed to have more 100 degree days this summer than Houston!
The temperature reached well over 100 three times in Seattle in June, culminating with a record-smashing 108 degree reading on June 29. It had only reached 100 three times before in Seattle's entire weather history going back to the late 19th century, and yet would reach 100 three times that week.
Meanwhile, Houston went all of June, July and August without hitting 100 once -- though it was close. Houston reached 99 on Tuesday at the August buzzer.
"Believe it or not, the humid climate in Houston can help keep the temperatures from reaching 100 degrees," according to FOX Weather Meteorologist Aaron Barker, who is based in Houston. "That's because humid air can't hold as much heat as the dry air that you find in desert climates."
Houston averages six 100-degree days a summer, though that average is skewed a bit by the blazing summer of 2011 when they hit triple digits 41 times. Take out that year and the average drops to four.
Though you can't blame those in Houston for thinking summers and 100 degrees go hand-in-hand as the humidity makes it feel well over 100 degrees on several days.
"While we may not have hit 100 degrees so far this summer, you could've fooled me," Barker said. "Just this week alone, the heat index has been near 110 degrees in some places around Houston."