Stereotypically, faraway nations are chilly and snowy. Movies and literature helped us in that regard. Children building snowmen and movie stars playing in the snow shaped our beliefs. The US is the best international draw.
Most people don’t realize the US isn’t snowy (sorry to disappoint you). Deserts surround her. Some US cities have 100 °F temperatures. Due to their proximity to high-temperature locations, some of the most populous US cities made this list.
To learn more, join us on this adventure as I have gathered a list of the top hottest cities in the US:
1. Phoenix
As the capital of Arizona and the hottest city in the United States, Phoenix is a popular destination for tourists. There are more than 1.6 million people that live in the metropolis, which experiences severe weather conditions on over 111 days of the year.
Additionally, the mountains around the valley are to blame for the high temperature, since they prevent rain and clouds from cooling the area. The city’s closeness to the equator also contributes to its severe heat, ranking it one of the warmest in the United States.
Moreover, heat islands are dangerously hot metropolitan regions because they absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than beautiful habitats due to the rapid development of the population and the consequent massive expansion of concrete infrastructure and lack of green space.
2. Las Vegas
Nevada’s largest city, Las Vegas, is also one of the hottest, coming in at number three on our list. More than 78 days a year, the city experiences temperatures of 100 °F or above. In fact, with a well-deserved reputation as America’s gambling capital, Las Vegas serves as the economic hub of the state of Nevada, as well as the third-hottest city in the United States.
While Las Vegas has set a new record high temperature of 117 °F, it is tied with Tucson for the most days with temperatures reaching or exceeding 90 °F. In spite of the heat, the city is still a major tourist attraction in the United States, so tourists should plan ahead and visit locations with air conditioning throughout the summer.
3. Tucson
Tucson, in the state of Arizona, has the highest average annual temperature in the country, with highs of at least 100 °F on 68 days out of every year. Tucson, it turns out, can be just as hot in the winter as Phoenix.
Moreover, on the Sonoran Desert’s steep plains, along the Santa Cruz River, and surrounded by Santa Catalina and other mountains, Tucson is a city. The city’s proximity to the Sonoran Desert is one of the factors that contribute to the city’s high temperature.
The Arizona-Sonora Museum, nestled in the highlands of the Tucson Mountains, serves as a display for Arizona’s deserts plants and animals.
You might also want to know more about the windiest cities in the US.
4. Fresno, California
The Central Valley, beyond the Mojave Desert and the Colorado Desert, is the warmest area in California, with temperatures often exceeding triple digits in the summer months. So, there is no doubt that Fresno is not welcoming in summer.
Furthermore, temperatures in the city reached or above 100 degrees on 38 days in 2022, the longest such streak in the city’s recorded history.
5. Del Rio
It is no surprise that Del Rio, located in southern Texas, United States, is routinely recognized as one of the hottest cities in the world. Why do Texans and tourists expect temperatures to reach or exceed 100 °F on around 60 days every year?
Incidentally, Del Rio is a city in the state of Texas with a population of much more than 49,400 people. It is situated on the Rio Grande, which acts as the boundary between the United States and Mexico in that area. As for the weather, while winter-like conditions may occur in certain regions of Texas, they are relatively unusual in the region where Del Rio is situated.
This implies that you’ll have more than four months to withstand the extreme weather conditions. A similar trend may be seen in terms of the average temperature, which is 81.6 °F all year.
6. San Antonio
San Antonio, Texas, is the sixth-hottest city in the United States, keeping us here in the Lone Star State. This city’s residents are subjected to oppressively hot temperatures almost the whole year round, with daily highs in the mid-summer months exceeding over 98 °F.
Similarly, at 111 °F (44 °C), San Antonio has the highest recorded temperature in the United States. However, the city is still ranked lower than its Texas counterpart, Brownsville, due to the lower number of days per year in which temperatures of 100 °F (32 °C) or higher are recorded, compared to Brownsville’s 25 days.
You might also want to check out the coldest cities in the US.
7. Austin
With another Texas city making the list, it seems like we’ll never get out of the state! Austin is a city located in the middle of the Texas Hill Country. It is located about 80 miles north of San Antonio. The average summer temperature in Austin is 97 °F, which is quite hot (36 °C).
Additionally, Austin’s humid weather may make it seem much more sweltering than it really is. The capital city is one of the warmest capitals in the United States, with temperatures above 1o0 °F on 24 days of the year.
8. San Angelo
One of the hottest cities in the US is San Angelo, Texas, which is located in Texas. That’s because the city experiences temperatures in excess of 90 °F on a daily basis. Similarly, according to our ranking of US’s hottest cities, the city of San Angelo, Texas, is nearly tied with Austin. Winters in San Angelo are brief, drizzly and windy, whereas summers last for months and are hot and muggy.
9. Corpus Christi
As a Texas city, Corpus Christi ranks as one of the country’s hottest, with an average year-round temperature of over 81 °F and a mid-summer high of over 90 °F. The temperature in Corpus Christi has been set at 109 °F, which is a new record (43 °C).
Despite the fact that there is no shortage of sunlight in Corpus Christi, the weather is typically partly cloudy for the majority of the year.
10. Waco
Finally, Waco comes in at number 10 and closes up our examination of the most popular cities in the United States. Winter lows are just 39 °F, but summer highs are a scorching 97 °F. In contrast, it is located in the heart of Texas, just south of Dallas, Waco is a popular destination.
Temperatures range from 39 °F (4 °C) to 97 °F on average throughout the year (36 °C). When it comes to Waco’s warmest day, it was 114 °F (45.5 °C). Moreover, the city of Waco may be a wonderful place to visit at other times of year, despite the oppressive heat of summer.
11. Riverside
Coastal parts of Southern California benefit from the clear water of the Pacific Ocean, which keeps temperatures moderate, but farther inland, conditions may be considerably hotter. Similarly, a record high of 118 degrees was recorded in Riverside, California, roughly 50 miles to the east of California, throughout the months of April through October.
This is higher than Las Vegas’s all-time high and just a few degrees behind Phoenix’s all-time high.
12. Miami
It may not be as hot in Miami as the southwest United States, but its closeness to the tropics may make it seem oppressively hot, particularly for individuals who are not used to the high relative humidity levels. Additionally, Miami hasn’t ever reported a temperature beyond 100 °F.
Here, the intense summer heat combined with high humidity may cause the temperature to rise above 110 °F on the warmest days of the year. Furthermore, the average high temperature in Miami during the winter is about 80 °F, making it one of the country’s warmest cities.
13. Houston
With over 2 million residents, Houston is the most populous city in Texas, and high pressure from the Gulf of Mexico has a significant impact on the weather phenomenon along the coast of the state’s eastern coast. The heat contributes to raising the temperature to over 100 °F on a regular basis.
In addition, the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico also contributes to the formation of thunderstorms and storms, keeping Houston the wettest of the country’s hottest cities, with an average of more than 100 days of rain each year.
14. Brownsville
Brownsville, Texas, is the latest Texas city to make the list. The city of Matamoros is located near the Mexican border on the western Gulf Coast of South Texas. In fact, located on the southernmost southern tip of Texas, near the border with Mexico, and adjacent to the Gulf Coast, Brownsville is a bustling metropolis with a diverse population.
Furthermore, during the summer months, the temperature in this city may reach 94.4 °F, ranking this one of the hottest cities in the United States.
15. Orlando, Florida
This year saw a record-breaking 72 million visitors to one of Florida’s hotspots, making it one of the state’s most popular tourist destinations. A historic high of 103 degrees was set in Orlando, which is cooler than Miami, where the average temperature in July is 89 degrees.
From June through September, lows of 60 °F or less are not uncommon at night. Despite temperatures seldom falling below 30 degrees at night, Orlando is a year-round vacation destination.
To conclude, in the southern United States, the weather can be hot all year round. The excessive heat in certain American cities may put people’s lives at risk if they don’t take the appropriate precautions to stay cool.