What local data says about a year that's already set heat and storm-damage records

This July clocked in as the warmest month on record, according to NASA, but it's been a wild weather year all around the US. There were 23 (and counting) extreme weather events—storms, tornadoes, flooding, hail—in the first seven months of 2023 that each caused over $1 billion in damage in the US, the most ever recorded. While easterners suffocated under smoke drifting down from northern Canada, the West Coast saw enormous amounts of rain in the winter and spring, capped off by heat domes this summer and an unusual hurricane that thankfully diminished before crashing into California.

Hamlet crunched data from a variety of government sources, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to look at how extreme and unusual the weather was in Palo Alto.

How hot has 2023 been in Palo Alto?

“NASA data confirms what billions around the world literally felt: temperatures in July 2023 made it the hottest month on record,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “The science is clear. We must act now to protect our communities and planet; it's the only one we have.”

July may have set records globally, but how hot was it where you live?

• The average daily high for Palo Alto in July was 74.4 degrees. The average since 2006 was 75.8.
• Compared to all years from 2006 to 2023, this year was the 3rd hottest in Palo Alto.
• The hottest July in Palo Alto was 2006.
• The hottest day of 2023 so far in Palo Alto was August 23, 2023, when the temperature hit a high of 91.4 degrees. The hottest day ever recorded in Palo Alto was September 1, 2017, clocking in at 107.6 degrees.

How stormy has the weather been in Palo Alto this year?

Using the NOAA's Storm Events Database, which covers the local region instead of just Palo Alto, there were 10 distinct storm events so far in 2023, occurring over 13 days.

• How many days resulted in injury or loss of life? 0.
• How about damage to property? 9.
• The most frequent extreme weather in the region was flooding. The second-most frequent was thunderstorm wind.

Hamlet used data from the NOAA's Storm Events Database and the National Weather Service's local climate data for this article.

See what air-pollution data says about air quality in Palo Alto.