Record high temperature hit as Wichita summer heats up

Extremely hot temperatures that began Saturday and are forecast to continue through at least Wednesday have already broken one record in Wichita.

At 2:30 p.m. Saturday, the temperature at Wichita Dwight D. Eisenhower National Airport reached 110 degrees, breaking the previous Aug. 19 record of 105 degrees set in 2011. The National Weather Service’s Wichita said Saturday afternoon that the last time the airport hit that temperature was July 30, 2012.

Records date back to 1888.

Likewise, Sunday’s high is forecast to be around 106 degrees, also around 3 p.m. The Aug. 20 record is 106 degrees, which was set in 2001.

The hottest temperature reached so far this summer in Wichita was 107 degrees on Aug. 2.

Monday and Tuesday are forecast to have indexes and temperatures that surpass 100 degrees. Wednesday and Thursday are also forecast to have indexes surpass 100 degrees with temperatures at or near triple digits as well.

And next weekend?

“It’s tough to say it’s either going to be close to average (with highs) in the in low 90s or a little bit above average in the high 90s,” National Weather Service Wichita meteorologist James Cuellar said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2023 at 2:21 PM.