August 2010: The Warmest Ever...on record*
The average temperature last month was 87.7° which makes it the warmest August on record and the warmest month on record at Bush Intercontinental Airport. The previous record was set in July 1980 and August 1962 when the average temperature was 87.5°. We beat the old record by a mere 2/10ths of a degree.
The average temperature combines both the high and low temperatures. So let's break it down even more. The average high temperature in August 2010 was 97.6°, which is 4.1° above normal. There were only two days when the high temperature was less than 95°. The average low in Houston was 77.9°, which is 4.9° warmer than usual.
Higher than normal dew points kept us from cooling off at night and produced a dangerously high heat index. On August 14, the heat index hit 114°. Heat Advisories were in effect for about half of the month.
In Galveston, August 2010 was the second warmest on record with an average temperature (highs and lows combined) of 87.4°. That's 2.9° warmer than normal. The hottest month on record in Galveston was August 2005 when the average temperature was 86.6°.
* The phrase "on record" is important because local weather observations only date back to 1889. Furthermore, over that time the official thermometer for Houston has been moved several times before being installed at Bush Intercontinental Airport in June 1969.


















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