2022 North American heat waves

The first round of intense heat came on May 13, when Caribou, Maine hit 90 °F (32 °C), the second earliest on record.[3] The next day, three people who lived inside of a senior building passed away in Chicago, Illinois as a result of the heat, due to the air conditioning malfunctioning.[4] Later that month, in Memphis, Tennessee, when temperatures reached 91 °F (33 °C), an infant died after being left unattended inside of a motor vehicle.[5]

On May 21, 2022, heat became prevalent in the Mid-Atlantic, resulting in a near record hot Preakness Stakes horse race, with Baltimore and Philadelphia having temperatures of 95 °F (35 °C), Washington DC at 92 °F (33 °C), and New York City at 90 °F (32 °C).[6] This heat persisted into May 22, when Dulles International Airport hit 91 °F (33 °C), breaking the daily high record, and Westfield, Massachusetts hit 93 °F (34 °C).[7] Also on May 22, New York City sets a record high low temperature of 72 °F (22 °C), although the high of 89 °F (32 °C) was not a record.[8] Very brief intense heat returned on May 31, as much of the New York Metropolitan Area set record highs that day.[9] Toronto also recorded a record high of 32.2 °C (90.0 °F) that day.[10] Further south, schools released kids early that day due to the heat, with highs forecast in the upper 90s Fahrenheit.[11] However, by June 1, a backdoor cold front reduced temperatures dramatically.[12] On May 31, Boston dropped from 82 °F (28 °C) to 63 °F (17 °C) in ten minutes.[13]

A historic heat wave affected the Midwestern United States and Southeastern United States in the second week of June 2022. In Phoenix, a daily record was tied, as the mercury soared up to 114 °F (45.6 °C).[14] In North Platte, Nebraska, a record temperature of 108 °F (42 °C) was recorded.[15] In Death Valley, a man died when trying to refuel gas as temperatures climbed to 123 °F (51 °C).[16] In Rocky Mountain National Park, the excess heat resulted in rapid snowmelt, and the flooding forced a trail in the park to close.[17] Temperatures in Memphis soared to 98 °F (37 °C), with a heat index of 110 °F (43 °C). This forced over 125 million people under excessive heat warnings.[18] In Odessa, Texas, thousands of residents were left without water, even as the temperature got to 105 °F (41 °C).[19] In San Antonio, every day in June 2022 was at least as hot as 97 °F (36 °C), except for June 28.[20] On June 13, St. Louis hit 100 °F (37.8 °C), breaking the daily record. In addition, from the 13–16, the morning low never went below 81 °F (27.2 °C), breaking the warmest morning low record for the next 4 days. In Chicago, Midway Airport recorded three days with high temperatures of at least 100 °F (38 °C) between June 14 and 21.[21] On June 17, the heat dome moved over the Mid-Atlantic briefly, causing a record high of 99 °F (37 °C) in Washington DC, and tying the record high of 96 °F (36 °C) in Baltimore.[22][23] On June 20, Minneapolis set a daily record high of 101 °F (38 °C), with a heat index of 105 °F (41 °C). June 18 saw Mobile, Alabama have a record high of 100 °F (38 °C).[24] This was the first time Minneapolis saw triple digits in four years. Grand Forks, North Dakota saw a daily high record of 100 °F (38 °C) in June 19, and Houston and Galveston saw record highs of 101 °F (38 °C) and 97 °F (36 °C) respectively on June 20.[25] Heat in Alaska triggered 31 wildfires.[26]

An intense, fatal heat wave swept through the United States in July. More than 100 million people were put on heat alerts, and over 85% of the country had temperatures at or above 90 °F (32 °C). A man died in Dallas County, Texas, and a heat emergency was triggered in Washington DC due to temperatures over 95 °F (35 °C), on the weekend of July 23–24. This extreme heat severely intensifies drought conditions. Arkansas and Missouri went from 1% and 2% of their states from seeing severe drought or worse, to a quarter and a third. On July 17, Winnipeg saw their highest ever dew point, at 27.4 °C (81.3 °F).[27]

Temperatures in Abilene, Texas on July 20 hit 110 °F (43 °C), breaking a daily record. Austin, Texas also saw a daily high record of 104 °F (40 °C). Daily record high low temperature records were set, like in Needles, California, where the temperature never dipped below 95 °F (35 °C) on July 20. Record warm low temperatures were also set in Galveston (86 °F (30 °C)), Wichita Falls (84 °F (29 °C)), Houston (81 °F (27 °C)) and Laredo (81 °F (27 °C)), on July 20.[28] The heat wave was responsible for 18 other deaths, including 12 in Maricopa County, Arizona and one at Badlands National Park.[29] Witchita Falls hit 115 °F (46 °C) on July 20, a record for July, while on that day Oklahoma also reached that mark. Oklahoma City set a monthly record high of 110 °F (43 °C).[30] Further east, every day from July 20 to 24 in Newark, New Jersey got at or over 100 °F (38 °C), the longest streak on record. Boston also set a record high on July 24, at 100 °F (38 °C).[31] When the heat wave broke on July 25, multiple flash flood warnings were issued with the cold front.[32] While most parts of New Jersey exceeded 90 °F (32 °C) for the 8th day, New York City was kept to 86 °F (30 °C), thus keeping the heat wave to 6 days there.[33] Also, in New York City, for only the 3rd time, the entire month had highs above 80 °F (27 °C).[34] Overall, July 2022 was the 3rd warmest July on record, 8th for daily maximum but had the warmest daily minimums at record, at 63.57 °F (17.54 °C). Texas saw their warmest July on record, with an average high temperature of 100.2 °F (37.9 °C).[35]

Later on in the month, another heat wave in Portland, Oregon causes 14 additional deaths. Portland saw 7 consecutive days at or above 95 °F (35 °C), while Seattle saw six days at or above 90 °F (32 °C), both breaking records for duration, by July 31.[36]

Intense heat continued into August. In early August, a heat wave forced 80 million Americans under heat alerts.[37] Albany, New York set a new daily record high of 99 °F (37 °C) on August 4.[38] On August 7, Portland set a high temperature record of 96 °F (36 °C).[39] Boston set a new daily record high on August 8, at 98 °F (37 °C).[40] On August 9, Philadelphia got an excessive heat warning due to heat indexes over 105 °F (41 °C) for two consecutive hours.[41] This led to a ten day long heat wave in Philadelphia, while Boston saw temperatures above 95 °F (35 °C) for six days in a row.[42] Due to this, the New York Metropolitan Area had a top 5 hottest August, and Islip, New York and Newark, New Jersey had their warmest on record,[43] and so did Philadelphia a little bit to the southwest.[44] Further west, Missoula, Montana saw their hottest August on record,[45] while Portland, Oregon recorded their warmest ever month.[46] August, like July, was the warmest for daily minimums.[47] Oregon, Washington, Idaho, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire had their warmest August on record.[48] In addition, Newark set a record for the most days above 90 °F (32 °C) in August.[49]

On September 1, Death Valley hits 127 °F (53 °C), a global record for September.[50] That day, parts of Interstate 15 near Centerville, Utah buckled.[51] On September 4, a monthly record was set in Casper, Wyoming at 100 °F (38 °C).[52] Sacramento hit a record high on September 5, of 116 °F (47 °C). San Francisco also had a daily record that day of 97 °F (36 °C).[53] A monthly record high of Salt Lake City was set as well that day, at 103 °F (39 °C).[54] California's power grid nearly broke.[55] There were two deaths – one each in Arizona and Idaho.[56] Later on in the month, Nashville set their latest day at or above 100 °F (38 °C) on September 21.[57] Nevada and Utah saw their hottest September on record, and the 3rd quarter of 2022 for the United States as a whole was the hottest on record.[58] September 2022 became the hottest on record for the continent of North America at large.[59]

• Weather of 2022
• 2020–22 North American drought