Heat climbs to 107 downtown; Heat Index 120 degrees
The National Weather Service instruments at the Maryland Science Center at the Inner Harbor were reporting a temperature of 107 degrees at 3 p.m. Friday. The Heat Index - what it feels like with the humidity inhibiting our ability to cool off by sweating - was 120 degrees.
That ties the all-time record high temperature for Baltimore, recorded downtown on July 10, 1936. 
But because the official weather station for the city moved to the airport in 1950, today's Inner Harbor reading won't go into the record books.
The official reading for Baltimore at 3 p.m., out at BWI-Marshall Airport, was 104 degrees, with a Heat Index value of 117 degrees. That breaks the record for the date, 101 degrees, set in 1957. It's also the hottest official temperature for Baltimore since ... well, since last year. It was 105 degrees on July 6, 2010, and on four other dates since record-keeping began in 1871.
That said, the afternoon is still young, and we could still get higher readings at either station. Stay tuned. And stay cool.
UPDATE, 4:30 p.m.: The 4 p.m. reading at BWI was 105 degrees. It's the second summer in a row that we've reached a 105-degree high at the airport, and the sixth time since record-keeping began the official high for Baltimore has been that hot. They are:
Aug. 6 and 7, 1918 (downtown)
June 29, 1934 (downtown)
Aug. 20, 1983 (BWI)
July 6, 2010 (BWI)
July 22, 2011 (BWI)
Only one other date has topped it. It was 107 degrees in downtown Baltimore on July 10, 1936.
Categories: By the numbers, Heat waves
Comments
I'm no micro-climatologist, but it seems ridiculous to assign Baltimore's weather records to a location several miles away in a different county .
Posted by: Andrew Hazlett | July 22, 2011 4:57 PM
It's hot outside.
Posted by: ks | July 22, 2011 5:44 PM
It's too bad the official reading is now at BWI since I think it's usually cooler there than downtown. Sounds like comparing apples and oranges!
Posted by: Marian | July 22, 2011 6:06 PM
When did the readings at the Customhouse end and what was the highest reading there?
FR: The Customs House station, which was regarded as inaccurate because of its rooftop location, was dismantled in the mid-1990s, I believe, and downtown readings were switched to instruments on the lawn of the Maryland Science Center. The record high for Baltimore of 107 degrees was made on July 10, 1936 at the Custom House. But the city's station of record has been at the airport since 1950.
Posted by: LEC | July 22, 2011 6:36 PM
"It's 105 at the airport".
As my dad used to say, "Who the hell lives at the airport?"
FR: On the other hand, nobody lives on the roof of the Customs House, either.
Posted by: Dutch | July 22, 2011 7:16 PM
The records have posted, and the numbers are:
Downtown: 108°
BWI: 106°
Dulles: 105°
Dulles set a new all-time high temperature record. Remarkable.
Posted by: Eric | July 22, 2011 8:21 PM