Austin temperatures hit 104 degrees on Saturday; expect an even hotter day on Sunday

Summer temperatures in Austin on Saturday hit triple digits for the seventh time this year — and the sixth time this week — but humidity brought in by southerly winds has made the air feel even hotter.

Stay hydrated because the extreme heat will be with us for at least another few days, forecasters say. Here's a look at the heat, by the numbers:

Austin hits 104 degrees

Highest temperature in Austin so far this year, reached Saturday at Camp Mabry, site of the city's main weather station. The National Weather Service is projecting daytime high temperatures to be 105 degrees on Sunday, 102 on Monday, 101 on Tuesday but 99 on Wednesday. Triple-digit temperatures are set to return with a high of 102 on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

6 days

Number of consecutive 100-degree days in Austin in June as of Saturday. Last week, Monday's and Tuesday's highs of 103 matched or exceeded the daily heat records set in 2011, the year Austin had 90 days of 100-degree weather, according to National Weather Service data.

Wednesday's high temperature of 101 fell 1 degree short of the daily heat record for June 8 set in 1925. Thursday's high, also 101, matched records set in 1948 and 2008. Friday's reading of 102 at 3 p.m. matched the daily record high set in 2008. Saturday's high of 104 broke the previous daily heat record of 101 set in 1923, 2008 and 2012.

27 days

Highest number of consecutive days with 100-degree weather in Austin, a record set from July 17 to Aug. 12, 2011. If the current forecast holds, June 2022 could see nine days in a row of triple-digit temperatures. The June record for such days is 20, set in 2008.

108 degrees

Maximum heat index value or "feels like" temperature last week on Tuesday, when the air temperature in Austin hit 103 degrees at 3:30 p.m., breaking the previous daily record of 100 set in 2011. But the increased humidity drove up the heat index and made it feel more like 108 degrees. The heat index value takes into account that humidity makes it harder for sweat to evaporate, which is how your skin cools your body down on hot days.

More: How bad will summer get in Austin? Drought, extreme heat, disaster risks just getting started

Air temperatures in the upper 90s can start to feel like at least 100 degrees as the dew point — the temperature to which air must be cooled to become saturated with water vapor — approaches 70 degrees. The closer the dew point is to the air temperature, the more humid it feels.

On Friday, for instance, when afternoon air temperatures hit 100 degrees around 2 p.m. in Austin, the dew point of 68 degrees made it feel more like 106.

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93 degrees

Normal maximum temperature for Austin at this time of the year.

86.8 degrees

Average temperature (taken from daily highs and lows) for this June in Austin as of Saturday. That's about 4.9 degrees warmer than normal for this point in the month.

83.6 degrees

Average temperature for all 30 days of June last year. The warmest June ever in Austin was in 2008, when the average temperature was 87.4 degrees.

73,913 megawatts

Estimated power demand in Texas at 5 p.m. Friday on the state's grid managed by the Electric Reliability Council of Texas. ERCOT has previously asked Texans to turn off unnecessary lights and appliances when possible during the summer because extreme temperatures and lower generation output can strain the grid.

According to the seasonal assessment ERCOT released last month, peak demand during the summer could come in at a record 77,317 megawatts — well above the current record of 74,820 megawatts set Aug. 12, 2019.

One megawatt of electricity is enough to power about 200 homes on a hot day.

10.45 inches

Total cumulative rainfall for Austin at Camp Mabry this year. That's about 6.1 inches less than normal for this time of the year, thanks to a particularly dry spring season.

88.25%

Portion of Texas experiencing drought conditions, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor, a consortium of government and academic researchers. That's a slight increase from about 85.9% the previous week.

15.6%

Portion of Texas in exceptional drought, the most severe level and typified by crop loss and extreme sensitivity to fire danger. That's a small decrease from about 17.9% the previous week.

652.9 feet above mean sea level

Water elevation of Lake Travis at Mansfield Dam on Sunday. That's about 16.8 feet below the historical average for June, according to the Lower Colorado River Authority, which manages the Highland Lakes for hydroelectricity and flood control.

60%

Percent of Lake Travis considered full. The lake has about 672,680 acre-feet of water. One acre-foot is the amount of water it takes to cover 1 acre 1 foot deep.

8

Number of boat ramps closed on Lake Travis because of low water. Only five ramps on the lake remain open. But the ramp at Bob Wentz at Windy Point could close if the water elevation drops below 653 feet.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin temps exceed 100 again. Here are other impressive numbers