That was a drawing of mine from 1990 or so, back when everything had spiky hair, sunglasses and earrings. And back when Texas had normal temperatures. Or did it?

For example, on July 16, 1990, the high temperature in Austin was 78, and the low was 68. That’s actually well below normal, but then again, today’s forecast high of 102 is well above normal. Last year’s high of 97 was also above average. So was 2000’s, and 2004’s, and 2006’s. Almost every day I click seems to suggest an average closer to 100.

I have yet to experience a single summer where the high in July or August was routinely within a few degrees of 94 and 95, which are the stated high temperature averages for each respective month. Perhaps there was one month out of 10 or 12 years like that, but it’s the AVERAGE. The only way this could make sense statistically is if the previous decades were below 94 and 95, for example, and I don’t find that to be the case across the board. It always seems to be summer that’s out of whack; January’s average high of 59 seems to be within the ballpark of most years.

The all-time record warmest month (both high and low temperature combined) for July in Austin is 89.1 F. The 30-year normal (1971–2000) is 84.2 F.

So far, we are tracking at 88.7 F.

The results speak for themselves.

PM:

When I was younger, when it would hit 100, it would do so in late July or through August, never in June. It is so hot now that I am sweating by 9AM. And don’t let people fool you, Austin is one of the worst cities for heat, because it retains the humidity of the Gulf of Mexico, but is far enough away from a major body of water to allow for high temperatures — so you get the triple digits of Tucson and most of the humidity of Houston. I won’t see a 60 degree evening until late September, I bet.

Oh, the irony…