How often does Austin hit 100°? Here’s a breakdown by date, month, year and decade
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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin officially hit 100° for the first time in 2024 on Thursday, June 27. While that’s almost three weeks later than 2023, it’s still a week earlier than average.
Complete temperature records for Camp Mabry — Austin’s official reporting site — date back to 1898. Since then, Austin reached 100° a total of 1,982 times.
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The chart below shows the number of triple-digit temperatures recorded each year since records began.
The summer of 2011 was record-breaking. Austin hit 100° a total of 90 times that year, including a high of 112° on August 28. That ties with Sept. 5, 2000, as the hottest temperature ever recorded in the city.
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The years 2023, 1925, 2009, 2022 and 1923 all saw more than 60 days of triple-digit heat.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Austin has failed to reach 100° in 12 different years since records began, most recently in 1987.
The average for any given year from 1898 to 2021 is about 15 triple-digit days per year.
The data shows the number of triple-digit days is increasing. Over the past 30 years, the average number of 100° days per year is about 33. The chart below shows the number recorded by decade.
While the 1920s and 1950s both stand out with a high number of triple-digit days, the first half of the century had relatively few days above 100°. Since the 1990s, the number has been increasing quickly.
The 2000s, for example, saw 273 days at or above 100°. That number increased to 409 in the 2010s.
Austin has reached the century mark on 222 days so far this decade, meaning we’ve already hit 100° more times in just four years than the entire 1990s.
Unsurprisingly, August has recorded the most triple-digit days. The chart below shows the number of 100° days per month since records began.
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Of all triple-digit days, almost half have been in the month of August, while about a third have been in July.
About 12% of triple-digit days have been in June, while 7% have been in September. May and October combined account for less than 1% of all triple-digit days since 1898.
May 4, 1984, holds the title as the earliest 100° day in a calendar year. While having an incredibly early start, the year only had 18 triple-digit days in total. Meanwhile, the latest 100° on record occurred on Oct. 2, in both 1923 and 1938.
So which calendar day has seen 100° the most?
Aug. 10 has hit 100° a total of 42 times since records began, more than any other day. Aug. 9 is second, with 39 triple-digit temperatures.
The 30-year average for the first 100° day each year is July 4, while Aug. 30 is the average last triple-digit day of the year.
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