L A Times Article Falsely Asserts U.S. Had “Record” High Summer Temperatures in 2023 • Watts Up With That?

Guest essay by Larry Hamlin

The L A Times ran an article addressing the year 2023 Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures which falsely claimed that:

“But in Britain and the United States, global records go back to the mid-1800s, and the two countries’ weather and science agencies are expected to concur that this summer has been a record breaker.”

Despite all the climate alarmist politically driven ignorance-based hype about “record” year summer 2023 temperatures the reality of the year 2023 summer temperatures in the U.S. and other global locations are, in fact, disputed by NOAA’s measured data.         

NOAA’s year 2023 U.S. temperature data records covering the NOAA defined 3-month summer June through August period actually shows that U.S. 2023 summer temperatures were far below “record” summer maximum temperature levels regardless of whether one is looking at NOAA’s national, regional, state, county or city summer temperature data.

Looking first at NOAA’s National Contiguous U.S. Maximum Temperature for year 2023 (shown below) we see a maximum temperature of 85.72 F which represents the 109th highest maximum summer temperature of the 129 maximum summer temperatures identified. There are 20 years in which the Contiguous U.S. Maximum Temperature was higher than in 2023 with the highest ever being in 1936 at 87.92 F.

The year 2023 is not even close to being a “record” maximum highest summer temperature for the Contiguous U.S.

Looking next at NOAA’s West Regional Time Series for year 2023 (shown below for the West Region) we see a maximum temperature of 86.6 F which represents the 73rd highest maximum temperature of the 129 maximum summer temperatures identified. There are 56 years in which the West Regional Maximum Temperature was higher than 2023 with the highest ever being in 2021 at 91.2 F.

There are 7 other NOAA Regional Areas which are the Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southeast, Southwest and Northern Rockies Plains of the U.S. with each of these showing that the year 2023 maximum summer temperature is not the “record” highest with these “record” highest maximum years being 1936, 1988, 1949, 2021, 2011, 2020 and 1936 respectively.

The year 2023 is not even close to a “record” maximum highest summer temperature for any of NOAA’s U.S. Regions.

Looking next at the NOAA’s Statewide Time Series Maximum Temperature for year 2023 (shown below California) we see a maximum temperature of 87.9 F which represents the 77th highest maximum temperature out of the 129 maximum summer temperatures identified. There are 52 years in which California’s Statewide Maximum Temperature was higher than in year 2023 with the highest ever being in 2021 at 91.9 F.

Of the 48 States in the Contiguous U.S. 47 did not see a “record” maximum highest summer temperature in 2023. Only Louisiana has a “record” maximum highest summer temperature in year 2023.

California’s year 2023 summer temperature was not even close to a “record” maximum summer temperature.

47 of the 48 Contiguous U.S. States did not have a “record” maximum summer temperature.      

Looking next at NOAA’s County Time Series Maximum Temperature for year 2023 (shown below for Los Angeles County) we see a maximum temperature of 85.0 F which represents the 49th highest out of 129 maximum summer temperatures identified. There are 80 years in which the Los Angeles County Maximum Temperature was higher than in year 2023 with the highest ever being in 2006 at 89.7 F.

There are 58 California counties listed in NOAA’s County Time Series and none these counties had a “record” maximum highest summer temperature in 2023. 

Looking next at NOAA’s City Time Series Maximum Temperature for year 2023 (shown below for Los Angeles) we see a maximum temperature of 72.8 F which represents the 47th highest summer temperature out of the 79 identified. There are 32 years in which the Los Angeles City Maximum Temperature was higher than in year 2023 with the highest being in 2006 at 76.8 F.

There are 9 California cities (including Death Valley) listed in NOAA’s City Time Series and none of these cities had a “record” maximum highest summer temperatures in 2023.

NOAA’s temperature data as identified and addressed in the above discussion for year 2023 clearly indicates that the U.S did not have “record” breaking summer temperatures in year 2023 – not at the national level, not at the nations regional level, not at the nations state level, not at the level of California’s 58 counties, and not at the level of 9 major California cities. 

Despite these outcomes in California and the U.S. climate incompetent alarmist politicians and news media will continue to falsely hype “record breaking heat” as being present across the nation and its states, regions, counties, and cities based on the grossly and completely invalid misapplication of a global wide temperature averaging outcome that cannot define temperature outcomes at specific global regional, national, country, state, county, or city locals. 

Additionally, given the 2023 summer temperature outcomes of the U.S. addressed above it seems unlikely that the Global Region of North American had “record” summer temperature outcomes as hyped by the propaganda driven alarmist media. This outcome is further addressed below.

Alaska highest Maximum Summer Temperatures Peak was 65.3 F in 2004 with the year 2023 maximum summer temperature being only 60.6 F in 2023 making it the 85th out of 99 total yearly maximums as shown below.

The highest reported temperature measured in Canada this year was 41.4 C in British Columbia’s South Coast on August 14, 2023.

Canada’s highest ever reported temperatures are shown below.

This data clearly supports that Canada did not have “record” high maximum summer temperatures in year 2023 which is consistent with the same outcome for Alaska whose territories occupy the same Northern Hemisphere global latitudes as Canada.  

Given that neither the U.S., Alaska nor Canada had “record” high maximum summer temperatures in 2023 it seems extremely probable that neither did the entire North America Global Region.  

But despite this reality in the inane ignorant based climate alarmist political propaganda world the alarmism hype will continue unabated.