How hot has it been in Kansas this summer?

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July is typically the hottest month in Kansas, and this year has been no exception. Statewide, the average temperature (degrees F) for July 2022 was 80.8°, or 2.0° above normal. This July ranks as the 29^th warmest on record, dating back to 1895. June 2022 was above normal as well, ranking as 34^th warmest.

Many locations in Kansas have dealt with bouts of extreme heat this summer, often as long stretches of high temperatures lasting for weeks. The COOP observer in Ashland (Clark County) has reported 30 days of highs at or above 100° (we will term this “100° days” in this report, with references to other thresholds similarly phrased) this year as of July 31. The Kansas Mesonet site at Meade recorded 30 consecutive 90° days, from June 30 to July 29. Have there been more hot days than normal this year in Kansas?  Let’s take a closer look.

Summer temperatures at 40 locations in Kansas

The data in this report are based on the period 1991-2020. For each of 40 locations across the state, the total number of days with high temperatures at or exceeding four different temperature thresholds (90°, 95°, 100° and 105°) during this 30-year period was determined, then averaged to obtain annual counts (Table 1). Next to the averages are this year’s counts through July 31 for the same four thresholds.

As of July 31, none of the 40 locations have exceeded their average annual number of 90° days, but Chanute has tied their average with 49. At first glance, this might suggest that the heat this year hasn’t been all that unusual. However, at the higher temperature thresholds, evidence that 2022 has been unusually hot becomes clearer. Fourteen of the 40 stations have already exceeded their average number of 95° days. Over 70% of the stations (29 of 40) are above their annual average number of 100° days, and just over half (23 of 40) are above their annual average of 105° days. The only part of Kansas where none of the average counts have been exceeded is in the northeast. For places where the hottest temperature threshold counts are already above annual averages, another month or more of hot days will push those counts even higher. Most locations in Kansas typically see at least half of their daily highs in August reach at least 90° (Table 2). There is a better than even chance of above-normal temperatures in August according to the Climate Prediction Center (Figure 1), so we will certainly add to this year’s totals in the next few weeks before cooler temperatures prevail. Additionally, locations with below-normal counts still have plenty of time to catch up.

Figure 1. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center temperature outlook for August 2022.

 

Record-breaking heat?

Some superlative statistics of note: Healy’s 17 days at or above 105° so far in 2022 already ranks as their 5^th highest count on record, dating back to 1901. The most 105° days on record there in a calendar year is 26 days during the Dust Bowl era, in 1934. Dodge City’s 105° days count of 7 is tied for 5^th all time, dating back to 1943. Dodge City’s top two years for 105° days, 2011 (26) and 1980 (20), are unlikely to be matched, but a top 5 ranking is still noteworthy, especially when the only years ahead of 2022’s counts are legendary in Kansas climate history for excessive heat. Only time will tell if 2022 ends up ranking as high as those infamous years, but we’re well on our way to such heights for many locations if the August outlook verifies.
 

Table 1. Average number of days per year with high temperatures exceeding various temperature thresholds. BOLD numbers inside red-shaded cells indicate 2022 counts at or above than their corresponding 30-year averages, while blue-shaded cells are below the 30-year averages.

		30-Year Average (1991-2020)				2022 Year-to-Date (through July 31)
Northwest
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Atwood	Rawlins	62	35	14	2.4	46	37	24	8
Colby	Thomas	58	29	9	0.9	44	30	18	5
Goodland	Sherman	52	25	6	0.6	40	30	14	2
Hill City	Graham	69	41	17	4.4	47	35	22	8
North Central
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Clay Center	Clay	56	26	8	1.4	33	20	4	0
Concordia	Cloud	50	23	7	1.2	37	21	10	2
Minneapolis	Ottawa	69	37	14	4.5	46	25	11	2
Smith Center	Smith	61	32	12	2.7	40	20	14	4
Washington	Washington	55	25	7	0.7	29	9	1	0
Northeast
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Holton	Jackson	38	13	4	0.4	28	9	1	0
Horton	Brown	43	15	4	0.3	27	8	0	0
Manhattan	Riley	59	28	10	2.1	31	13	3	0
Marysville	Marshall	45	18	5	0.5	27	6	0	0
Wamego	Pottawatomie	49	19	6	1.0	31	11	1	0
West Central
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Healy	Lane	71	40	15	2.8	57	40	28	17
Oakley	Logan	60	33	11	1.3	41	30	21	6
Tribune	Greeley	65	37	12	1.6	40	30	12	1
WaKeeney	Trego	66	37	14	2.7	42	27	18	7
Hays	Ellis	66	36	15	4.1	46	27	17	8
Central
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Lincoln	Lincoln	69	38	17	5.2	41	23	19	1
McPherson	McPherson	64	31	11	2.3	44	32	13	1
Russell	Russell	64	34	13	3.0	46	26	14	4
Salina	Saline	69	38	16	4.4	44	28	11	3
East Central
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Emporia	Lyon	44	17	5	0.8	41	19	5	0
Garnett	Anderson	46	17	4	0.5	35	16	0	0
Lawrence	Douglas	43	16	5	0.3	39	20	5	0
Topeka	Shawnee	50	20	6	1.0	42	20	7	0
Southwest
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Ashland	Clark	84	52	23	5.8	61	44	30	13
Dodge City	Ford	71	38	14	2.5	58	41	24	7
Garden City	Finney	68	35	11	1.3	51	37	18	5
Liberal	Seward	80	47	16	1.9	59	45	24	9
Syracuse	Hamilton	75	42	14	2.0	60	40	22	8
South Central
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Anthony	Harper	70	36	14	2.4	50	36	15	3
Hutchinson	Reno	63	31	11	2.5	56	37	17	3
Pratt	Pratt	65	34	13	2.7	51	33	14	3
Wichita	Sedgwick	65	32	12	2.8	48	28	14	2
Southeast
Town	County	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°	≥ 90°	≥ 95°	≥ 100°	≥ 105°
Chanute	Neosho	49	20	5	0.8	49	30	13	3
Coffeyville	Montgomery	63	28	10	2.3	47	32	18	4
Pittsburg	Crawford	55	21	5	0.6	38	25	9	1
Winfield	Cowley	65	30	12	2.7	50	29	16	4

Table 2. Average number of days with highs greater than or equal to 90°F during the first 7 months of the year (based on 1991-2020 data), the actual counts for the first 7 months of 2022, and the average number of 90° days in the month of August for the same 30-year period.

Region	Town	Jan.-Jul. Average	2022 YTD	August Average
Northwest	Goodland	31	40	14
North Central	Concordia	30	37	13
Northeast	Manhattan	34	31	16
West Central	Oakley	34	41	15
Central	Salina	41	44	18
East Central	Topeka	29	42	15
Southwest	Dodge City	41	58	19
South Central	Wichita	38	48	18
Southeast	Chanute	27	49	17

 

Stay tuned!

Watch for a future report with final counts for 2022 in the fall. In the meantime, the Kansas Mesonet is a great resource for tracking the heat of summer at over 75 locations across the state. Visit us on the web at http://mesonet.k-state.edu.

 

Matthew Sittel, Assistant State Climatologist
msittel@ksu.edu

Christopher “Chip” Redmond, Kansas Mesonet Manager
christopherredmond@k-state.edu

Tags:  weather Climate high temperatures hot weather