July 2022 goes into the history books

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If you have been outside at any time in the last month, you know it has been very hot. July 2022 will go down in the history books of Central Texas for many reasons. In this article, we’ll talk more about those reasons and learn more about how hot this month has been.

July 2022 is now the hottest July on record at the Waco Regional Airport. The average maximum temperature throughout the month was 103.7°. This breaks the old record for the highest monthly average temperature for the month of July set in 2011 of 102.8°. We broke that record by almost an entire degree. To put this heat in perspective, the normal high temperature for July should be around 96.7°.

We’ve been comparing this summer to the summer of 2011. That’s when we recorded the most 100 days in a year. That record was 90 days. Already this year (since July 31) we have recorded 100°F temperatures for 47 days, more than half of what we saw in 2011. Those 47 days now rank 10th on the list of most annual days 100°F.

As of July 31, the Waco Regional Airport has seen 47 days of 100° temperatures. That's now 10...
As of July 31, the Waco Regional Airport has seen 47 days of 100° temperatures. That is now the 10th most per 100th day in a single year.(KWTX)

As of July 31, Waco Regional Airport is currently on a streak of 30 days in a row where temperatures have been at or above 100°. These 30 days join the third longest streak of 100°F on record in 1969. The longest streak of 100°F temperatures is 44 days in 2011, from June 30 to August 12.

As of July 31, the Waco Regional Airport has seen 30 days of 100° temperatures. That now ties for...
As of July 31, the Waco Regional Airport has seen 30 days of 100° temperatures. That now ties for the third-longest streak of 100° on record.(KWTX)

Now we are only 1 day short of tying the record for the most 100 days recorded in a single month, which is 31. That happened in July 1980 and again in 2011. The average number of 100 days for the month of July is just 8.6. We crushed it this year.

We recorded 6 new all-time highs throughout the month of July. Fortunately, we didn’t break the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded at Waco Regional Airport. That record is 114° set on July 23, 2018. Our highest temperature last month was 109° on the 10th.

See a summary of the high temperatures we saw every day on the calendar below.

July 2022 will go down as the #1 hottest July on record at Waco Regional Airport. 30 of...
July 2022 will go down as the #1 hottest July on record at Waco Regional Airport. 30 of the 31 days in July were 100° or higher.(KWTX)

This month was not only scorching, it was also devastatingly dry. 30 of the 31 days in July were free of rain. We only recorded 0.01 inches of rain in the last month. The only other drier July months were in 2015, 1993 and 1930, where no rain accumulation occurred and only traces were recorded in 1963 and 1924.

The 0.01 inches we saw last month is 1.81 inches below the normal amount of 1.82 inches we see in July. We are currently in a dry spell for 17 days as of July 31st. We tied 1980 for the sixth driest July on record for receiving just 0.01 inches of rain.

30 of the 31 days in July were free of rain. Waco Regional Airport only picked up 0.01
30 of the 31 days in July were free of rain. Waco Regional Airport only picked up 0.01″ of rain. That’s now tied for the sixth-driest July on record.(KWTX)

We also know that the entire year of 2022 has been extremely dry not only for Central Texas, but throughout the Lone Star State. Drought conditions have worsened throughout the state. As of Thursday, July 26, 99.18% of the state is experiencing some type of drought, making less than 1% of the state drought-free.

99.18% of the Lone Star State experiences some form of drought.
99.18% of the Lone Star State experiences some form of drought.(KWTX)

At Waco Regional Airport, we should typically see 21.49 inches of rain as we head into early August. We are now more than a foot, 12.63 inches as of July 31, below where we normally are for this part of the year.

So far in 2022, Waco Regional Airport has collected 8.86 inches of rain and that puts us in the second driest year to date. The only other drier year was 1925 when only 5.71 inches of rain was recorded for the entire year. This time last year more than 19 inches of rain was recorded at the Waco Regional Airport.

We have only seen 8.86
We’ve only seen 8.86″ of rain at Waco Regional Airport so far in 2022. That amount now makes 2022 the second driest year to date behind 1925.(KWTX)

And as July draws to a close and we head into August, we’re heading into what is statistically the hottest time of year here in Central Texas. The normal high temperature for the month of August is 97.1° and the record high temperature was 112° in 1969. There are typically 11.4 days when temperatures rise to 100° or higher. The highest average monthly maximum temperature for the month of August is 105.2° and was delayed in 2011.

August is typically one of the hottest months we see all year in Central Texas. Here's a look...
August is typically one of the hottest months we see all year in Central Texas. Here’s a look at some of the temperature statistics.(KWTX)

Heading into the first week of August, you can expect the same hot and dry conditions to continue. Triple digits and very isolated chances of rain continue for Central Texas. Keep staying safe and cool in this heat. Before you know it, fall and winter will be here!

These weather statistics reported earlier in the article are recorded at the Waco Regional Airport.

WACO, Texas (KWTX) –

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