Exactly 13 years ago we were in the midst of arguably Montgomery’s worst heat wave

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - It has been another hot summer here in Central Alabama. Shocker, right? This week has been particularly hot, bringing both the hottest temperature (98°) and highest heat index (108°) of 2020.

That is nothing compared to what we were experiencing exactly 13 years ago. As many of you likely remember, August of 2007 brought relentless and unforgiving heat to the region.

It was the hottest August ever in terms of both high temperatures and the overall average temperature for the month in Montgomery. The average high temperature that month was a whopping 99.2 degrees! The average overall temperature from the 1st to 31st was an incredible 87.0 degrees.

13 years ago we were in the middle of the longest streak of 100°+ days in Montgomery's history.(WSFA 12 News)

It wasn’t just the hottest August in Montgomery’s recorded history; it was the hottest month the city has ever seen period!

Montgomery Regional Airport hit 100 degrees for a remarkable 12 straight days. What’s even more wild is the city set 11 straight record highs from August 6th-16th. During that stretch the mercury reached a brutal 106° four times in five days! That is the hottest 5-day stretch in Montgomery since record-keeping began in 1872!

106° is significant because it’s the 2nd-hottest temperature ever measured in the Capital City. Only one time in recorded history has Montgomery seen a temperature above 106°. That occurred back on July 7, 1881, when the thermometer read 107°!

Montgomery's all-time record high of 107 was challenged during the 2007 heatwave.(WSFA 12 News)

It wasn’t just Montgomery seeing ridiculous heat that August, though. According to the National Weather Service in Birmingham, every single reporting station in Central Alabama recorded its hottest average August high temperature ever. That includes locations such as Birmingham, Anniston and Tuscaloosa -- all of which broke at least 8 consecutive record highs.

That brutally hot August was part of a very warm year as a whole. 2007′s average temperature was the 14th-warmest on record in Montgomery. When you look just at the high temperatures that year, it was the 5th-warmest.

The city hit 106 degrees four times during an incredible 12-day stretch of 100+ temperatures.(WSFA 12 News)

A significant reason why it was so hot that August was the severe to exceptional drought that encompassed not only Alabama, but a good chunk of the Southeast. The overly dry soil and lack of daily thunderstorms allowed daytime highs to soar into the triple digits. For Montgomery, 2007 wound up being the 3rd-driest year on record.

Who all remembers that crazy heatwave?!