August 2023 shattered nearly every hot temperature record there is in Vicksburg.

The temperature topped out at 99 degrees or above on 24 of 31 days in August, with 18 of those more than 100 degrees. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city, 107 degrees, was reached on Aug. 24, and the average temperature of 87.4 is also a new benchmark.

The previous record for the hottest average daily temperature for a full month was 85.4 degrees in August 2011. National Weather Service records for Vicksburg only go back to 1948.

Prior to last month, there had only been five days in the past 75 years with a high temperature of 104 degrees or more. In August, there were nine, and five of those were 105 or above.

The average high temperature in August was 100.3 degrees.

The temperature topped the 104-degree mark three consecutive days from Aug. 18 through 20, and then again from Aug. 24 through 26. Those two stretches were part of a nine-day streak of 100-plus highs that is the second longest on record. Only a 10-day streak from Aug. 27 to Sept. 5, 2000, was longer.

The week of Aug. 19 through 25 had an average daily temperature of 89.4 degrees, which is the warmest week on record. The previous mark was 88.7 degrees from Aug. 4-10, 2011.

The 107-degree high on Aug. 24 bettered by one degree the city’s all-time record set on Aug. 31, 2000.

There have been 19 total days in 2023 in which it has been above 100 degrees, which is also second-most to the 21 days of the summer of 2000. The were been 16 daily high temperature records set last month.

This was also the driest August on record, with a brief splash of rain on Aug. 26 accounting for the .05 inches recorded the entire month. The previous low for August was .29 inches in 1990.

Warren County is in a severe drought according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and a burn ban is in effect for most of the southern half of Mississippi.

Vicksburg normally receives a little more than three inches of rain each August, and 36.33 inches per year according to the National Weather Service. Vicksburg’s year-to-date rainfall total is 33.97 inches.

Fortunately, the hot and dry trend is forecast to end for at least a couple of days. Friday’s high topped out at 94 degrees, and temperatures during Labor Day weekend are forecast to be in the low 90s.

There is also a 50-percent chance of thunderstorms on Saturday, a 60-percent chance on Sunday, and 20 percent chances through the middle of the week.