Counties in Missouri with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Counties in Missouri with the fastest-rising temperatures in the last 100 years
Hitting 116 degrees F in normally temperate Portland, Oregon. 105 degrees in Reno in September, just as summer is meant to be waning. And in California's Death Valley National Park, temperatures hit almost 130 degrees in the aptly named Furnace Creek, marking a world record for the hottest September day in history.
2021 and 2022 saw some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded, as across the country extreme heat waves wreaked havoc on communities accustomed to more moderate weather. For many regions, the consequences were grave: in the 2021 Western heatwave, hundreds lost their lives, largely due to a lack of air conditioning, and wildfires ravaged the area.
Map of the past year's temperatures compared to the 100-year average
While not every county in the nation has experienced such extreme heat, climate change has dramatically changed the heat landscape in nearly every state. Coastal regions and the Southern U.S. are particularly vulnerable to rising temperatures, and are also frequently targets of extreme weather events like hurricanes and tornadoes.
Just as all states are not impacted equally by rising temperatures, regions within states have also seen widely different temperature changes over the last decades. Factors such as proximity to urban areas, bodies of water, and mountains can dramatically change the climate of a region. Stacker cited data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Center for Environmental Information to identify the counties in Missouri with the greatest departure from average temperatures during the period December 2021 to November 2022 compared to the 1901-2000 average. Average temperature over the past year served as a tiebreaker. Additional data on recent average high and low temperatures for each county is also included.
#50. Howard County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.7 F (2.2 F above century average)
#49. Washington County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.3 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.4 F (2.1 F above century average)
#48. Gasconade County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.8 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.1 F above century average)
#47. Franklin County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.7 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.3 F (2.2 F above century average)
#46. Stone County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.7 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.2 F (2.2 F above century average)
#45. Pemiscot County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 50 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.6 F (1.8 F above century average)
#44. Johnson County
- #19 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.3 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.3 F (2.3 F above century average)
#43. Morgan County
- #19 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.3 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.1 F above century average)
#42. Christian County
- #14 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.8 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.4 F (2.5 F above century average)
#41. St. Louis City
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.4 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.3 F above century average)
#40. Clay County
- #20 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.7 F (1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.8 F (2.7 F above century average)
#39. Warren County
- #20 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.9 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.2 F (2.3 F above century average)
#38. Boone County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.7 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 66.9 F (2.3 F above century average)
#37. Cooper County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.4 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.4 F (2.2 F above century average)
#36. Webster County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.4 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.2 F (2.4 F above century average)
#35. St. Charles County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.9 F (2.4 F above century average)
#34. Dallas County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69 F (2.4 F above century average)
#33. St. Louis County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68 F (2.4 F above century average)
#32. Hickory County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.5 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.8 F (2 F above century average)
#31. Platte County
- #18 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 43.9 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67 F (2.7 F above century average)
#30. Jackson County
- #19 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.6 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67 F (2.5 F above century average)
#29. Moniteau County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.6 F (2.1 F above century average)
#28. Wright County
- #14 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.8 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.5 F (2.3 F above century average)
#27. Jefferson County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (1.2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.8 F (2.6 F above century average)
#26. Douglas County
- #15 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.5 F (2.6 F above century average)
#25. Lawrence County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.2 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.5 F (2.2 F above century average)
#24. Barry County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.7 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.9 F (2.2 F above century average)
#23. Callaway County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 44.8 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.5 F (2.6 F above century average)
#22. Cass County
- #16 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 67.5 F (2.5 F above century average)
#21. Osage County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.2 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.6 F (2.4 F above century average)
#20. Phelps County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.1 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69 F (1.9 F above century average)
#19. Maries County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.4 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.8 F (2.3 F above century average)
#18. Greene County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (1.5 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.2 F (2.4 F above century average)
#17. Dade County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.3 F (1.3 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.2 F (2.7 F above century average)
#16. Taney County
- #12 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.6 F (0.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.5 F (3.2 F above century average)
#15. Jasper County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.2 F (1.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.8 F (2.9 F above century average)
#14. Texas County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.8 F (2.1 F above century average)
#13. Cole County
- #13 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (1.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 68.4 F (2.3 F above century average)
#12. Laclede County
- #11 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.1 F (2.5 F above century average)
#11. Cedar County
- #10 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.5 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.2 F (2.7 F above century average)
#10. Shannon County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.3 F (2.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.6 F (1.8 F above century average)
#9. Polk County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.6 F (1.4 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.8 F (2.9 F above century average)
#8. Ozark County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (1.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.8 F (2.7 F above century average)
#7. Camden County
- #9 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.6 F (1.8 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.8 F (2.9 F above century average)
#6. McDonald County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.5 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.5 F (2.9 F above century average)
#5. Miller County
- #8 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46 F (2.1 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 69.4 F (2.8 F above century average)
#4. Newton County
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 47.6 F (1.6 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.1 F (3.2 F above century average)
#3. Pulaski County
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 45.7 F (2 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70 F (2.9 F above century average)
#2. Oregon County
- #7 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.5 F (2.7 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 71.1 F (2.6 F above century average)
#1. Howell County
- #5 warmest year since 1895
- Recent average low: 46.4 F (2.9 F above century average)
- Recent average high: 70.5 F (3.1 F above century average)