Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

Sweltering heat remains across the South-Central Plains, Lower/Middle Mississippi Valley, and the Southwest this week with limited nighttime relief. Thunderstorms will bring heavy rainfall leading to localized flash flooding in portions of the Desert Southwest and central Plains. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms are possible across portions of the central Plains into the Northeast. Read More >

August 2007 Heatwave
by Sam Shamburger, Forecaster

A large and intense upper level ridge of high pressure centered over the southern United States brought record heat to Southeast Texas and Southwest Louisiana from August 8th through August 14th. Numerous locations saw temperatures rise over the 100 degree mark for the first time in one to two years. Some areas saw high temperatures soar to readings not seen since the record heat wave that occurred 7 years ago in the summer of 2000. This oppressive heat has even lasted through the overnight hours, with temperatures only falling into the 70s and lower 80s at night. Some of these warm overnight temperatures set records, and a few were even the warmest minimum temperatures ever recorded for the month of August.

These extreme temperatures, when combined with dewpoints in the upper 60s to middle 70s, led to dangerous heat index values in the 105 to 112 degree range during the late morning and afternoon hours across the area for several days. NWS Lake Charles issued near-daily heat advisories to warn the public of the dangerous outdoor conditions caused by the record heat.

RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR AUGUST 8-14, 2007
LOCATION	DATE	NEW RECORD	OLD RECORD
Lake Charles LA	8/11/2007	101 in 2007	100 in 1962
Lafayette LA	8/11/2007	101 in 2007	101 in 1925
New Iberia LA	8/11/2007	102 in 2007	100 in 1962
Lafayette LA	8/12/2007	101 in 2007	100 in 1962
New Iberia LA	8/12/2007	101 in 2007	99 in 1962
Lafayette LA	8/13/2007	101 in 2007	100 in 1951
New Iberia LA	8/13/2007	101 in 2007	100 in 1948
Alexandria LA	8/14/2007	103 in 2007	103 in 1962
Lake Charles LA	8/14/2007	102 in 2007	101 in 1925
New Iberia LA	8/14/2007	100 in 2007	100 in 1948

RECORD HIGH MINIMUM TEMPERATURES FOR AUGUST 8-14, 2007
LOCATION	DATE	NEW RECORD	OLD RECORD
Lafayette LA	8/8/2007	81 in 2007	78 in 1959
	8/9/2007	81 in 2007	78 in 1980
	8/10/2007	*82 in 2007	79 in 1969
	8/11/2007	*82 in 2007	81 in 1970
	8/12/2007	79 in 2007	78 in 1987
	8/13/2007	79 in 2007	77 in 1980
New Iberia LA	8/9/2007	77 in 2007	77 in 1999
	8/10/2007	*80 in 2007	77 in 1999
	8/11/2007	*80 in 2007	76 in 2001
	8/12/2007	78 in 2007	78 in 1987
	8/13/2007	77 in 2007	77 in 1949
Lake Charles LA	8/12/2007	80 in 2007	78 in 1987
Lake Charles LA	8/14/2007	79 in 2007	78 in 1957
* All-time record for the month of August

100+ DEGREE TEMPERATURES SINCE JANUARY 1, 2000
LOCATION	DATE	HIGH TEMPERATURE
Beaumont/Port Arthur TX	7/15/2000	101
	7/20/2000	100
	8/30/2000	103
	8/31/2000	*108
	9/1/2000	102
	9/2/2000	104
	9/3/2000	103
	9/4/2000	105
	9/5/2000	104
	9/21/2005	101
	9/22/2005	100
	8/11/2007	101
	8/12/2007	101
	8/13/2007	102
	8/14/2007	101
Lake Charles LA	7/15/2000	101
	8/30/2000	105
	8/31/2000	*107
	9/2/2000	101
	9/3/2000	103
	9/4/2000	105
	9/5/2000	104
	9/20/2005	100
	9/21/2005	101
	9/22/2005	100
	8/11/2007	101
	8/12/2007	100
	8/13/2007	102
	8/14/2007	102
Alexandria LA	7/16/2000	100
	7/19/2000	102
	7/20/2000	100
	7/21/2000	100
	8/10/2000	100
	8/11/2000	100
	8/16/2000	100
	8/17/2000	101
	8/18/2000	101
	8/19/2000	101
	8/20/2000	101
	8/21/2000	101
	8/26/2000	101
	8/27/2000	100
	8/29/2000	102
	8/30/2000	106
	8/31/2000	108
	9/1/2000	*109
	9/2/2000	106
	9/3/2000	106
	9/4/2000	107
	9/5/2000	107
	7/14/2004	100
	7/15/2004	101
	8/21/2005	100
	9/20/2005	101
	9/21/2005	100
	7/17/2006	100
	8/11/2007	103
	8/12/2007	100
	8/13/2007	103
	8/14/2007	103
Lafayette LA	8/30/2000	104
	8/31/2000	103
	9/1/2000	101
	9/2/2000	102
	9/3/2000	103
	9/4/2000	101
	9/5/2000	100
	8/16/2006	100
	8/11/2007	101
	8/12/2007	101
	8/13/2007	101
New Iberia LA	7/16/2000	100
	8/31/2000	103
	9/1/2000	102
	9/2/2000	101
	9/3/2000	101
	9/4/2000	*103
	9/5/2000	101
	9/6/2000	101
	8/11/2007	102
	8/12/2007	101
	8/13/2007	101
	8/14/2007	100
* All-time record high temperature for that location

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Heat Persists in the South Central U.S. and Southwest; Heavy rains in the Desert Southwest and Central Plains

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