We’re in the midst of a second heat wave this summer. Our first, in late June, was a scorcher, setting an all time high record for Seattle at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) on June 28 of 108˚F. We had three days of temperatures greater than 100˚F in that period.

This week’s heat wave (and now smoke wave) isn’t quite as hot. But temperatures are back above 90˚F. This is a arbitrary threshold, but it is as good as a threshold for a heat wave as any, so we’ll use it.

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So, how often does it get to 90˚F or greater in Seattle, The Land of No Air-Conditioning? It is pretty much a summer only phenomena and is not as uncommon as one might think. Figure 1 shows maximum daily temperatures at SeaTac going back to January 1, 1949. Most summers record at least one or more days of 90˚F, but not all. This year is about average. We’re not through with this current heat wave, so one can expect to see another red dot for today and probably tomorrow. I can’t predict beyond tomorrow whether we will see anymore really hot days. But it is becoming late summer. Days are gradually getting shorter and nights longer and we only have about 2-½ more weeks until September begins.

Ironically, in the six or so weeks between this summer’s heat waves, we’ve had one of the most pleasant, if a bit dry, summers in my 38 years here.

Click on Figure 1 to expand it. I’ll update it over the next few days as this heat wave plays itself out.

Figure 2 was added on August 14. It shows a zoom-in of Figure 1 for the last 10 years. Most summers in Seattle experience at least a few days with temperatures reaching 90˚F.

Figure 2 also shows the extraordinary heat wave Seattle experienced in June 2021 where temperatures exceeded 100˚F for three straight days.

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Tags: Tmax, maximum temperatures, weather, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, KSEA, summer, heat