Record-breaking hot weather for Fresno? Here’s how close we came to historic marks
Fresno had two runs at breaking hot-weather temperature records in July, but it’s doubtful anyone is complaining that it didn’t happen.
Now, cooler days are ahead, promises the National Weather Service in Hanford.
This month, the thermometer also nearly broke the hottest all-time one day record — 115 degrees — but a “rounding error” saved that century-old mark as well (more about that later).
Records are safe for the next week, as the city experiences a relative cool snap of 90-degree days.
The weather service says the cooler weather will be driven by an onshore flow of marine air that will push temperatures down from a high Wednesday of 108, to 106 Thursday, 102 Friday and 92 Saturday.
Ahead of the lower temperatures, the weather service Wednesday warned of a series of thunderstorms in the Sierra Nevada from Yosemite to Kings Canyon National Park.
For now, the region’s 14-day streak of 105-degree days set in 1988 will stay in the books, along with the 20-day record of 100-degree days in both 1983 and 1984.
As noted, the 115-degree day that scorched the city in 1905 was nearly topped July 7, but the historic mark is safe thanks to tricky mathematics.
How? Meteorologist Stephen McCoy said it involves a temperature conversion from Celsius to Fahrenheit and an average taken over a three-minute time span.
Astute weather watchers looking at the weather service website July 7 perhaps noticed that a 115-degree temperature was briefly reported. But it did not meet the criteria. Interestingly, the same thing took place in 2022.
Until the cooler days arrive, the City of Fresno cooling centers remain open. They can be located at the following locations when the temperature is 105 degrees or above:
- The Ted C. Wills Community Center at 770 N. San Pablo Avenue
- The Maxie L. Parks Community Center at 1802 E. California Avenue
- The Sal Mosqueda Community Center at 4670 E. Butler Avenue
Other hot weather resources can be found here.
This story was originally published July 24, 2024 at 3:34 PM.