Austin Heat 2023

Today the temperatures barely breached 50 here in Austin. This afternoon we were greeted with light rain that progressed well into the evening - I even heard some thunder and lightning. Overnight we are hitting the mid to upper 30s pretty regularly - almost freezing.

No, I'm not complaining - I'm rejoicing and I'm expressing gratitude.

After the excruciating and relentless heat this summer I welcome as much cold and rain that this so-called El Nino will throw at us. (i.e. its been a ridiculously dry El Nino in spite of predictions of a strong one this season).

For the record, I wanted to run down the summer that we endured this year - after reading the numbers you will be in awe that any human lives in this part of Texas - or even that its survivable.

45 Consecutive Triple Digit Days (2011 had 27)
80 Triple Digit Days (2nd most of all time; 2011 had 90)
42 Days >105 degrees (Most of all time; 2011 had 26 days)
Source: KXAN Weather in Austin

There are other average temperature records but I don't give them much credence because of urban sprawl and concrete heating.

Don't even bring up "wet bulb temperature" or I'll ban you for life.

The heat last year was something most people will never experience in their lifetime. It was claustrophobic and stifling. As such, I'll never complain about the cold or rain or snow - not that I ever did. Instead, I'll express deep gratitude to cold mornings and temperate afternoons.