Category: excessive heat

HeatRisk: a comprehensive heat impacts scale

September 13, 2025

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, heat, heatrisk

Heat index, wet bulb globe temperature, and now HeatRisk… what do they mean and which is best to assess heat impacts?
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The heat is on – but how hot and for how long?

July 19, 2025

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat

Mid-summer has set in, and it’s here for the long haul!
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Comparing the summers of 2022 and 1980, and what’s ahead for the coming week

July 17, 2022

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion, record temps

July 1980 vs. 2022 It’s no secret that heat has been a major story locally, and also for much of the country, this summer. If you’ve seen the daily climate summaries we post on social media each evening, you may be seeing a lot of record highs from the year 1980. Those who have spent…
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Summer arrives – quickly and with ferocity

June 11, 2022

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

Recap of Northwest Flow Week The past week or so has seen the Mid-South region in a pattern frequently referred to as “northwest flow,” which means that the upper level wind flows from northwest to southeast across the area. There are two main features of northwest flow in our area, and they are related: Storm…
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“Real” summer is underway, and here to stay, across the Mid-South

July 25, 2021

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

Summer 2021 so far While we saw some above normal temperatures in the month of June, the overall average for the month was 1.0 degrees below normal and the highest temperature recorded (officially) in Memphis was 94 degrees. July typically features highs in the low 90s and low in the mid 70s. Through the 23rd,…
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More hot weather… but a (relative) end is in sight!

September 29, 2019

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, intern, summer, TeamMWN

Two weeks ago in this space, we asked the same question and didn’t get an appropriate answer: “when will the heat finally end?” This time we ask with more desperation and urgency! Never-ending summer brings record heat and drought Summer 2019, though it started a little late, seems to never want to end! Relative to…
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Steamy heat settling into the Mid-South

August 10, 2019

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

By most standards, this summer has actually been relatively mild in the Memphis metro. While May was warmer than average, the hottest it got was 92°. June’s average temperature was 2° below normal and once again the highest temperature was 92°. July also finished a little over a degree below normal despite some hotter days.…
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Details: excessive heat and severe weather threats for today

July 20, 2018

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion, severe thunderstorms

A busy day in the weather office today as multiple hazards affect the Mid-South over the next 24 hours. Let’s dive in… Excessive Heat Morning radar shows an area of light rain moving over the metro. As of earlier this morning, the prediction was for temperatures to reach the 96-98° range this afternoon with sauna-like…
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Minimal rain chances, but it’ll be hot for the foreseeable future

June 15, 2018

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Erik Proseus

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air quality, code orange, excessive heat, forecast discussion

Summer “officially” starts 6 days from today, but Mother Nature has decided to bring on the full-on summertime pattern to our area early. This weekend into next week, our forecast pattern will be primarily influenced by a high pressure that has developed over our area. This high pressure will keep our rain chances to a…
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Heat relief is just around the corner!

July 26, 2017

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

The heat seems unrelenting… Heat Warnings and Advisories are in effect today and Heat Advisories continue into tomorrow. But there is actually great news just around the corner! The bad news… We’ll start with the bad news first, though. A large ridge of high pressure remains firmly in control of the weather pattern locally and,…
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Excessive heat slowly gives way to increased rain chances

July 21, 2017

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion, heat

** UPDATED AT 3:00PM FOR EXTENSION OF HEAT WARNING THROUGH SATURDAY ** We’ll start this blog with a bit of “hopeful” news as we bake in the Mid-South sauna… This map by Brian Brettschneider shows the normal midpoint of summer for a given location. Here in Memphis, it’s around July 17 according to the data.…
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#StupidHot continues… but for how long?

August 4, 2016

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat

UPDATE – 3:00pm Thursday The NWS has extended the Excessive Heat Warning through Friday for the pink counties in the map below and the Heat Advisory for everyone through Saturday. Heat indices will likely exceed 110° again on Friday afternoon with lows only near 80° tonight. ORIGINAL POST Anyone else tired of the seemingly never-ending,…
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Summer 2016 will likely be remembered for unrelenting heat

July 17, 2016

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Erik Proseus

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climate, excessive heat, summer

The summer of 2016 (at least meteorological summer, which consists of June, July, and August) is halfway over, and though not record-breaking, it has certainly been consistently hot! While Memphis hasn’t officially reached 100° yet this summer, perhaps the most notable statistics are related to the unrelenting duration of the heat. We simply haven’t caught…
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Do you like it hot or cold outside? This tool tells you where you should live!

September 18, 2015

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Erik Proseus

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arctic cold, excessive heat, regional weather, weather tools

I usually don’t share this type of thing via the blog, but I found this weather-based tool pretty interesting. The amount of data analysis one can do quickly and easily on the web these days is pretty amazing. This geographic tool, which I saw first on a Capital Weather Gang blog, falls in that category.…
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Heat Warning tomorrow, then watch for falling dewpoints!

July 28, 2015

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

As of early this afternoon, temperatures climbing into the mid 90s and high dewpoints (a measure of humidity) combined to meet the NWS definition of excessive heat (heat indices of 110°+), and the Heat Advisory that was in effect was upgraded to an Excessive Heat Warning. That warning continues through 8pm Wednesday, as we have…
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The dog days are here… hot, hot and more hot!

July 16, 2015

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, forecast discussion

Temperatures have been heating up the past week as broad high pressure at the upper levels of the atmosphere has built over the region. Though not atypical of summer in the south, humidity levels have also been high, which has prompted daily Heat Advisories as heat indices have topped out in the 105-115° range. High…
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Heat Safety: A Complete Guide from MWN

June 4, 2015

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Erik Proseus

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education, excessive heat, heat, safety tips, weather-ready nation

Many Memphians are aware of, or experienced, the record-breaking heat of the summer of 1980, even though it was 35 years ago this summer. The longest streak of 90-degree temperatures in Memphis recorded history was July 25-September 16, 1980 (54 days). Just prior to that, the longest recorded streak of 100-degree days occurred, a 15-day…
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Excessive Heat Warning in effect Friday

July 20, 2012

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat

…VERY HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF THE MID-SOUTH FRIDAY… VERY HOT AIR WILL SPREAD INTO THE MID-SOUTH TODAY AHEAD OF AN APPROACHING FRONTAL SYSTEM. HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL ALSO BE QUITE HIGH LEADING TO DANGEROUSLY HIGH HEAT INDEX READINGS ACROSS MUCH OF THE MIDSOUTH. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL RANGE FROM THE MIDDLE 90S TO…
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Prolonged and dangerous heat wave beginning over the Mid-South

June 27, 2012

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Erik Proseus

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code orange, drought, excessive heat, heat

A prolonged heat wave began today with a high of 98 degrees and will continue for the majority of the next week, if not longer, including the July 4th holiday. This heat wave will include daily high temperatures in the triple digits. There is no rain in the forecast for the next week, which will…
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The Top 11 of ’11: Mid-South weather stories from MWN (part 4)

December 30, 2011

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Erik Proseus

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excessive heat, snow, top 11, winter storm

For the past 3 days, we’ve been counting down the Top 11 Mid-South weather stories of 2011. Today continues the countdown as we approach the top two events on Saturday. First, we unveil numbers 3-4. To catch you up, if you missed the first 7, here are the links: Part 1 (#11 Aurora Borealis appears…
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