Update:
Revised at 4:09 p.m. to reflect the day's high temperature.
Excessive heat warning continues as Dallas weather remains hot — but not record-breaking
ERCOT’s demand for power reached all-time highs Monday and Tuesday.
After Dallas’ high temperature Tuesday tied a record, North Texans shouldn’t expect any more records to fall this week, according to meteorologists.
Dallas’ heat peaked at 107 degrees Tuesday afternoon, which tied the record high for the day from 2011, according to National Weather Service data. The hottest day so far this year, July 18, was slightly warmer at 108 degrees.
Wednesday’s temperature reached a high of 106 about 2 p.m., according to weather service data. The previous daily high-temperature record for Aug. 2, 110 degrees, also was set in 2011. The forecast calls for highs of 106 on Thursday and Friday as well; the records for those days are 109 and 108, respectively.
The weather service issued an excessive heat advisory for all of North Texas through 8 p.m. Thursday. Wednesday in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was also deemed an “ozone action day,” which means ozone levels are anticipated to be above normal and can affect air quality.
Fort Worth was forecast to be the hottest major city in the nation Wednesday based on the predicted heat index of 110, according to The Washington Post. Dallas was ranked second, Houston third, Austin fifth and San Antonio ninth.
This summer has been one of the warmest and driest on record in North Texas, according to the weather service, and August is typically the hottest month of the year.
The next chance of rain in North Texas isn’t until Sunday night or Monday morning. High temperatures are forecast to dip below 100 degrees early next week.
ERCOT, the state’s electrical grid operator, reported it was operating under “normal conditions” Wednesday after back-to-back days of record-breaking demand Monday and Tuesday. Monday’s demand rose to 83,047 megawatts and Tuesday’s hit 83,593 megawatts.
According to ERCOT data, a new record of nearly 84,000 megawatts of demand was possible late Wednesday afternoon.
The latest NBC5 forecast:
THURSDAY: Sunny and hot. Low: 83. High: 106.
FRIDAY: Sunny and hot. Low: 83. High: 106.
SATURDAY: Mostly sunny and hot. Low: 83. High: 105.
SUNDAY: Mostly sunny and hot. Low: 82. High: 104.
MONDAY: Partly sunny and hot. Low: 80. High: 100.
TUESDAY: Isolated thunderstorms. Low: 77. High: 98.
WEDNESDAY: Partly cloudy. Low: 76. High: 98.
