What a year it has been weather-wise across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern US.  After all-time record amounts of snow during the winter season, the tables have been turned to provide some of the hottest weather in nearly 10 years.  The mercury eclipsed the 100 degree mark 4 days in a row in Newark, NJ, 3 days consecutively in Trenton, NJ and Baltimore, MD, while hopping above 100 twice in Philadelphia, PA, Mount Holly, NJ, and Central Park, NY.  Here's a breakdown of highs from July 4th-7th.

City                             July 4th        July 5th              July 6th            July 7th

Newark, NJ                  101                 102                      104                    101
Trenton, NJ                    99                 100                      104                    103
Baltimore, MD               98                  100                      105                    101
Philadelphia, PA           96                   98                       102                    103
Mt. Holly, NJ                  97                   99                       104                    102
Central Park, NY           96                   99                       103                    100

Since the Philadelphia area is my hometown, I can tell you that the 103 degree temp on July 7th goes down as the 3rd highest on record, with the top mark being 106 degrees set back on August 7, 1918.  So many of you may be thinking better them than us, however this time of the year has historically featured the highest temperatures in Wausau. 

I did some digging in the record books and in Wausau, the last time the mercury topped the century mark was 15 years ago on July 13, 1995 with a high of 102.  To further illustrate how rare it has been to get that hot in Wausau, over the past 70 years, that high in 1995 was the only time with a reading in the triple digits.  Of course the 1930s were a different story, in particular the summer of 1936.  In July 1936, high temperatures in Wausau were 100+ on 7 out of 8 days from July 7th-14th with July 10th being the only day not in triple digits (it was a mere 99 degrees that afternoon).  If you would like to see the break down day by day, check out the archived weather data from the Wausau Post Office.  Also of note from that year was on July 13th, the all-time hottest temperature in Wausau was recorded, reaching 107 degrees.  Incidentally on the exact same date in 1936, the hottest temp in Wisconsin history was reached in Wisconsin Dells, where the high peaked at 114.

Unlike the folks in Arizona and other parts of the desert southwest where hitting 100+ is part of the routine in the summer months, it is a rare feat for many other parts of the country.  This summer the odds again seem slim that we will touch 100 degrees in North Central Wisconsin, but one last item of interest to note.  July climatological has had 11 days of readings at or above 100, followed by 3 days in June, 1 in May and none for the month of August.