Excessive Heat — Houston, Minnesota

2023-08-22 to 2023-08-24 · Houston, Minnesota

Event narrative

The combination of anomalously high temperatures and humidity resulted in maximum heat indices of 109 degrees on Tuesday, August 22nd and 118 degrees on Wednesday, August 23rd at an automated weather observation station near Hokah.

Wider weather episode

While parts of the 2023 summer had warm to hot temperatures, it took until middle to late August for the combination of hot temperatures and higher humidity levels to build a heat wave. Excessive heat advisories and warnings were initially issued on Tuesday, August 22nd and lasted through Thursday, August 24th. Heat indices reached and exceeded 100 degrees each day, with overall highest heat indices occurring on Wednesday, August 23rd. During this time, maximum daytime heat indices reached 118 degrees at Rochester (Olmsted County), Hokah (Houston County), and La Crescent (Winona County). Many sites in southeast Minnesota recorded heat indices of 105 to 120 degrees over the three days from August 22nd to August 24th. The excessive heat resulted in cancelled events in Rochester (Olmsted County).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1138542. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.