So far as of August 8, the Omaha metro has hit 100 degrees four times this year. One occurred in June, one in July, and two in August. This number could rise, as triple digit temperatures have been seen as late as September. I dug into the numbers today to put 100 degree days in context, how often do we hit 100? When did we hit it the most?
100 DEGREE DAYS: A HISTORY
Records for the Omaha area go back to 1871, meaning we have nearly 150 years of data to look through. Counting every day where we hit 100 degrees, Omaha has hit 100 degrees or above 423 times since 1871. Over 152 years, that is not very often where the mercury reaches over the century mark. Omaha does not hit 100 degrees every year, out of the 152 years on record Omaha has hit 100 degrees 82 of those years.
The graph shows the number of 100 degree days by decade, showing on average we hit 100 around 25 times each decade.
One number sticks out like a sore thumb, the 1930s, the "Dust Bowl Era" where the US baked in nearly unrelenting heat. If you take out the anomaly that is the 1930s, the average number of 100 degree days drops to 20 days per decade.
Other decades also show interesting results. The 19th century was relatively cool with only a few triple digit days for the first few decades. Then the 1910s was unusually warm, as well as the 1950s and the 1970s. Cooler decades include the 1920s and 1960s.
THE LAST 30 YEARS
Climate records typically are the averages over the last 30 years, meaning that the data for 100 degree days becomes more viable after 1992. The big outlier was 2012 with 11 days at or above 100 degrees. 2022 now has the highest amount of 100 degree days after 2012 with 4 so far.
On average, the first 100 degree day is July 10 with the earliest being May 14 and the latest being September 11.
