Earth recorded its hottest-ever month in July. But was it the hottest-ever in Tri-Cities?

The World Meteorological Organization declared at the start of August that July 2023 was officially the hottest month on record.

The first three weeks of the month were the hottest three-week period on record, and July 6 was officially the hottest day on record, with an average worldwide temperature of 63 degrees. The average worldwide temperature includes the frigid cold of the poles and the searing heat around the equator.

July 5 and 7 measured slightly cooler than July 6, according to WMO, making up the top three hottest days in recorded history.

How hot did Eastern Washington get?

Overall during July, Tri-Cities had eight days that reached at least 100 degrees and had an average high of 96 degrees. The National Weather Service in Pendleton lists the average monthly temperature at 77.6.

As heat waves blasted North America, Europe and Asia, weather in Tri-Cities was somewhat easier to endure. As parts of the country such as Phoenix set the hottest month on record for a U.S. city, Tri-Cities didn’t come close to beating its records.

The hottest average temperature for July recorded in Tri-Cities was in 1906, at 86.3 degrees. Second place is held by 2021, at 80 degrees. Tri-Cities was even further from beating its hottest maximum temperature recorded in July. The record was set in 1939 at 115 degrees — 2023’s maximum temperature was 104 degrees.

When were Tri-Cities’ hottest summers?

Since records began in 1894, a typical July in Tri-Cities sees an average high temperature of 91.8 degrees and an average low of 58.7 degrees for an average 24-hour temperature of 75.3 degrees.

This past July, the average high was 96 degrees, and the average low was 59.3 degrees, making the 24-hour average for the month 77.6 degrees.

Here’s how this past July stacks up against other toasty summers in the Tri-Cities. Each month is measured by the average 24-hour temperature:

1. 1906 - 86.3 degrees

2. 2021 - 80 degrees

3. 1941 - 79.2 degrees

4. 1908, 1958, 1960, 1985 - 79.1 degrees

5. 1911, 1938, 2022 - 79 degrees

6. 2014 - 78.8 degrees

7. 1998 - 78.6 degrees

8. 1961 - 78.5 degrees

9. 1896 - 78.3 degrees

10. 1905 - 78.2 degrees

Looking to August weather in Boise

It may be hard to believe after July’s heat, but Boise is on the precipice of having below-average temperatures for the time of year. But don’t be expecting to pull out your sweaters just yet.

Boise’s average high for early August is 94 degrees, and the Weather Service forecasts highs between Thursday and Tuesday will range just under that between 90 and 93 degrees.

The Climate Prediction Center, an extension of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has Boise in a narrow corridor of seeing equal chances of above-average and below-average temperatures over the next 6-10 days.

The same outlook also forecasts Boise having a 33-40% chance of higher-than-average rainfall. But, as noted by the Weather Service in a tweet, early August is the driest time of the year for Boise, and it doesn’t take much for the city to see above-average rainfall — the city only averages 0.17 inches of rain in August.