NEW ORLEANS — Sunday was the hottest day ever recorded in Southeast Louisiana, coming out of a record-breaking weekend.
Armstrong airport inducted the new record on Sunday afternoon around 3:30 p.m. The site has been recording temperature since 1946.
The weekend that culminated on Sunday, marked the hottest weekend on record.
Other temperature records were broken across Southeast Louisiana and the Gulf over the weekend. Saturday, Slidell saw a 108 degrees; and Gulfport, Miss., recorded a scorching 107 degree high.
A cool front and possible storm front on Monday and Tuesday is expected to bring down temperatures slightly.
Records for Kenner go back to 1946. The hottest day ever recorded before Sunday's 105, was last Wednesday's 102 degrees -- which itself tied Aug. 22, 1980.
This summer, the high temperatures have resulted in over 260 wildfires, according to Gov. John Bel Edwards. In response, the governor issued a statewide burn ban in early August.
Six heat-related deaths also were reported in New Orleans this month. In response, Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a city emergency. A week later, when temperatures spiked again, Edwards issued a statewide emergency.
July was not only the first time southeast Louisiana saw three triple-digit days in a row, but it was also the hottest month ever recorded on Planet Earth. Many around the world have been seeing record temperatures. Even Siberia, in Russia, near the Arctic Circle, has had triple-digit temperatures.
El Nino is partly to blame. Warm temperatures in the eastern Pacific Ocean, impact the weather around the world, moving the Pacific jet stream toward our area.
There has also been a heat dome, which is an area of high pressure that traps heat and stops rain from moving in. Southeast Louisiana has found itself sitting under the heat dome a few times this summer already, and it is coming back to this area this week.