8.1.23 – NOLA – BY ROSHAUN HIGGINS | Staff writer
‘The frequency of extreme temperatures is expected to increase in a warming climate,’ one forecaster says.
Heat records are melting away in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and other parts of Louisiana. Baton Rouge just endured its hottest month ever, and New Orleans is broiling under rarely seen conditions.
National Weather Service Forecasters said that an area of high pressure has been sitting over much of the state, stopping afternoon showers from forming which would normally help temperatures cool down.
New Orleans is seeing extremely hot days happen more often as other heat records globally are also being broken.
“I can’t say specifically that this particular heatwave is climate change, but the frequency of extreme temperatures is expected to increase in a warming climate,” said NWS forecaster Danielle Manning.
A new record was set on Monday for hottest July 31 in New Orleans at 101 degrees. The previous record was 98 in 1993, with the record going back to 1947.
Monday also saw the hottest day in July record broken, the last one being set in 2009. This July tied for the warmest with average temps at 86.7, and the second warmest month on record behind August 2011, which was 87.3 on average.
New Orleans also had two days in a row over 99. There have only been two times on record when it was 99 degrees for three days in a row. That was Aug. 12-14, 1951, and July 14-16, 1980.
NOAA meteorologists also predict that the rest of the week will remain especially warm.
Hottest month ever in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge’s record for hottest July 31, which goes back to 1892, was broken Monday at 102, beating the record set in 1921 at 100.
Records were also broken for warmest July and warmest month in Baton Rouge, with an average temperature of 87.8 degrees. This beats out the last warmest month, which was on average 86.3 in August 2011, and the last warmest July, which was on average 85.6 in 1960.
Slidell broke the record for hottest July 31 at 101, beating the record set in 2010 at 98. However, the record only goes back to 1994.
Multiple hottest-day records were met or broken in other parts of Louisiana on Monday, including Lake Charles at 100 degrees, Lafayette at 103, New Iberia at 104 and Alexandria at 103.
In their 6-10 day temperature outlook, NOAA meteorologists predict all of Louisiana is expected to have above-average temperatures. Average temperatures for that time span, Aug. 3-7, are 77 to 92 degrees. According to Tuesday’s forecast, temperatures will range between 81 and 98 for those dates