Wednesday, July 3, 2024
The month of July has always been heralded as one of the hottest months in Coryell County. Today, with the humidity levels at record peaks, a 100-degree temp may feel like 105. Looking back through The Gatesville Messenger, a few hot dates in July stand out. The words used in these hot weather accounts include broiling, sweltering, and blistering.
July 26, 1957
The lowering clouds and scattered showers furnished a measure of relief from the broiling July heat. It broke a string of five straight days of 100-degree weather, Gatesville, which got only .08 inch of rain, after the mercury had bubbled to 105 on Sunday. The cooler weather served as a sound to charge for millions of crickets as well. They have been swarming into downtown Gatesville in a mass invasion covering the sidewalks and clinging to the fronts and sides of buildings.
July 20, 1962
Coryell County is currently sweltering through a July heat wave that had seen temperatures climb to the 100-degree mark or higher for eight straight days. The prospects were the ninth consecutive day of 100-degree weather reading. While the hot weather has been hard on the human race, farm crops are thriving.
July 22, 1966
Mercury vaults to 104 degrees.
The Gatesville area, sweltering in a July heat wave, wiped away the sweat and watched the temperature hit a blistering 104 degrees at mid-week with no relief in sight. It had topped the century mark again as the string of 100-degree days were stretched to seven.
August 2, 1968
In an ordinary year, Gatesville would have experienced several days of 100-degree weather by this time, but the mercury hasn’t reached the century mark this summer, according to Martin Clary, junior high science instructor who is the Gatesville observer for the U.S. Weather Bureau.
July 26, 1997
By July 23, 1996, Gatesville residents had already endured 17 days of 100+ degree temperatures. So far, 1997 is a different story. The first 100 days of the summer was reported by Nathan Cooper, Gatesville’s official weather observer for the National Weather Service. He reported the first official 100-degree day of the summer in Gatesville.
Texas is well known for its hot weather during the month of July. Some consider Texas to be one of the hottest states in the United States. Some parts of the state experience peak temperatures as early as May or as late as September.
