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Triple-digit heat arrives earlier in West Texas compared to last year

Hot temperatures are in the forecast but how does this compare to what is usual?

The Permian Basin is in for some pretty hot temperatures this coming weekend and next week. Included in the forecast are several days where the highest temperature is expected to exceed 100 degrees. 

Credit: Chief Meteorologist Jordan Frazier

This means that the first 100-degree day will end up falling a bit earlier than the climatological average in West Texas.

Based on data going back to 1990, the Permian Basin's average first triple digit day occurs on May 23, with the last happening on August 23. In 2023, West Texas had its first 100-degree day on June 9, which was an exceptionally hot summer. Following June 9, there were 57 days of triple-digit heat the rest of the year. 

The hottest the Permian Basin got up to last year was 111, on three separate occasions in June. West Texas finally ended the spell of 100-plus-degree temperatures on September 23. 

By the way, the earliest a 100-degree day ever happened was on April 21, 1989. 

It looks like the Permian Basin has an early start to summer, but history tells us that the likelihood of this summer being as bad as last year is pretty low. This is due to just how abnormally warm 2023 was compared to the 30-year average. 

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