The heat index in Wichita hit an 11-year high this week. Just how hot is this summer?
It feels like it has been a crazy hot summer. But has it been?
The 113-degree heat index between 6-7 p.m. Wednesday at the Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport was the highest it has been since 2013, according to the National Weather Service.
Even more, the 81-degree dew point, which measures moisture in the air, at 8:15 p.m. Wednesday tied the highest on two different days dating back to 2000, according to Wichita NWS meteorologist Vanessa Pearce.
The other two dates were Aug. 3, 2011, and Aug. 24, 2003.
Still, even with all that, the 83-degree average temperature for July 12 was only 1.5 degrees above the 30-year rolling average temperature for that day. The average temperature is an average of the high and low for that day.
And the max temperature Wednesday was 95 degrees, just two degrees above the normal for July 12.
The highest temperatures for Thursday and Friday were expected to be in the mid-90s around 3 p.m., with heat indexes at those times supposed to reach triple digits. Heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body. It factors in humidity and temperature.
“It’s normal for us in July, this time of year, to have 95-degree temperatures,” Pearce said. “It’s definitely a perspective thing, but there are times when you have that higher moisture content in the air so just that additional moisture, which can make it feel that much more oppressive than it usually is.”
Pearce also thought having a cooler day sandwiched in between hot days may make the hotter days feel more unbearable.
June 28 and 29 both reached highs of 102 degrees, making them the hottest of the year. June 30 reached 100 degrees. But then, within the last week, the Wichita area had a below normal cool day with a high in the mid-70s, she said.
“When you have those times where it goes back cooler ... sometimes our body can adjust to the lower value and, ope, it’s a kind of shock to go back to some of that heat,” she said.
The average temperature for July, through Wednesday, was 77.1 degrees. The normal temperature through July 12, which is based on a rolling 30 year average, is 80.9 degrees. The average temperature for June was 76.2 degrees while the normal was 76.9.
Overnight Thursday could see some rain. And sometime between Friday afternoon and evening the Wichita area could see winds up to 70 mph and up to half-dollar sized hail. Pearce said it’s not very clear when the forecast storm will arrive.
Saturday and Sunday are expected to see highs around 90. But the heat index, which considered temperature and dew point, won’t be as high as it was Wednesday night.
Perspective.