Heat — Wayne, Michigan

2006-07-29 to 2006-07-31 · Wayne, Michigan

Wider weather episode

This 2006 heat wave delivered the hottest weather the region had experienced in at least 4 years. A 5 day stretch of maximum temperatures at or above 90 degrees began on Saturday, July 29th. A blanket of especially high heat and oppressive humidity settled over the area on Monday, July 31st, and remained relentless through Wednesday, August 2nd. Temperatures, on the 31st, soared above 90 by noon with heat indices over 100 degrees. Heat indices averaged between 105 and 110 degrees through the entire afternoon. Detroit topped out at 96 and set a new high temperature record for July 31st, breaking the previous record of 95 set in 1955. Little relief was felt Monday evening with temperatures not dropping below 90 until 1900 EST. Most significantly, Detroit Metro tied the all time record for the warmest minimum temperature, for any date, when it failed to record a temperature below 80 degrees on July 31st. This had happened only 3 other times in the previous 136 years of record keeping, and this was the first time in 64 years that it had happened again. The major power companies in the area reported an all-time record customer demand for power from 1500 to 1600 EDT on the 31st. Remarkably, very few heat related illnesses occurred during the event. Newspaper articles revealed an extremely high level of awareness and preparedness from the communities across southeast lower Michigan. A large number of cooling centers were made available to those in need as folks reportedly heeded the warnings and took extra precaution. Although area hospitals reported some increase due to heat related illnesses, most were mild and due to heat exhaustion and dehydration. Four cases of heatstroke were confirmed in Wayne and Macomb Counties, 2 on the 30th and 2 on the 31st. No heat related deaths were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5526443. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.