TOLEDO, Ohio — Summer started with extreme heat, and right on cue, Mother Nature dosed out record temperatures this week in Toledo.
Monday foreshadowed the impending heat as high temperatures climbed to 90 degrees. The WTOL 11 weather team issued an Alert Day for Tuesday, which was summer solstice. High temperatures soared to 100 degrees, the first triple-digit day since 2012.
Tuesday’s temperatures tied the record high of 100 set back in 1988. The heat didn’t let up. On Wednesday, highs climbed to the mid-90s, and on Friday, temperatures are on track to once again hit 90.
Does it feel like summer heat is growing more common? Climate change is playing a big role in summertime warming.
In the 21st century, record temperatures are getting set left and right. Tuesday’s triple-digit temperature is a testament to the warming trend climate scientists have observed over the past half century.
This warming pattern has impacted Toledo and Ohio more than the United States as a whole. While the country has warmed 2.6 degrees since 1970, Ohio has climbed 2.7 degrees and temperatures in Toledo have soared a full 4 degrees higher.
You’ve likely felt this summer warmup in the past few decades. In recent memory, the summer of 2012 dosed out a historic four days in the 100s and 32 days in the 90s.
This week, we felt our first triple-digit temperature reading since 2012. Hot summers like this one and 2012 will grow more common in the future due to climate change.
Even if you enjoy the summer heat, it can prove dangerous if not deadly for the young, elderly, and those who work and exercise in the hot sun. Climate change is exacerbating heat-related illness, and the health impacts of global warming will grow more extreme in the future.
The summer heat we’ve felt this week and will experience this weekend will become more commonplace in the coming years. Whatever this summer has in store, the WTOL 11 weather team will keep you safe and informed.
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