The heat feels worse than usual in the Hudson Valley this year, but how bad is it really?

Typically, mid-July is the hottest time of the year, and July 2024 has absolutely delivered. Temperatures for the first half of the month are running about 4 degrees above average. On average, high temperatures are in the mid-80s, but this month we've had 11 out of 17 days run well above the 30-year average. But how hot has it really been?

When temperatures reach the 90s, the Hudson Valley takes notice. These temperatures happen about 10 times every summer, so it's not unusual - but that doesn't mean it's not dangerous. The all-time record number of days in the 90s is 30 - back in 1983. So far this year we've had 8 days in the 90s, and several days very close to the threshold at 89F in White Plains. A heat wave is considered 3 days in a row of 90-degree heat. We did not have an official heatwave in June or early July in White Plains, but it doesn't take a heat wave to create problems.

Hottest "feels-like temperature"

Heat is the deadliest weather phenomenon in the country and the National Weather Service issues heat advisories whenever temperatures feel warmer than 95 degrees. That's where the heat index comes in. This value was developed in 1979 to quantify the danger that humidity adds to hot temperatures. Our bodies cannot cool down as efficiently during humid days. Some people may feel this number "hypes up" heat events, but the heat index is not always warmer than the air temperature. On days with low humidity, the heat index can actually be lower than the air temperature.

The highest heat index so far this year was 102F on Monday, July 15 in White Plains. The actual temperature was 91F (2 degrees shy of the highest temperature of the year which happened the following day). The highest heat index on average in White Plains is about 99F. Last year's hottest day felt like 100F. The hottest feeling day in the past 30 years was an incredible 115F in July 1995.

Perhaps the most interesting part about this summer so far is the incredible warmth in the morning. Average morning temperatures are in the low to mid 60s, but we've had a long stretch of days that never dropped below 70F. July 4 to 11 stayed above 70F in White Plains, which is the 9th longest stretch on record! The all-time record was 2013. The top 5 longest stretches have all been reported since 2013. Records go back to the 1968 for White Plains.