‘Rare’ heat wave scorches tens of millions in the eastern US
People from Kansas to Maine are enduring “extreme heat risk,” according to the National Weather Service.
Only six days in recorded history have reached 100 degrees or higher—and all of them occurred in just three years: 1911, 1936, and 1953.
Here’s a look back:
Rochester hits 102 degrees in 1936
The hottest temperatures in Rochester’s history were recorded during the brutal heat wave of July 1936. On July 9 and 10, the temperature soared to 102 degrees on both days – still the highest ever recorded in the city. That heat wave proved deadly.
Between July 7 and 14, 1936, 17 people in the Rochester area died from the heat, according to newspaper reports.
Across the country, the death toll reached into the hundreds. By midday on July 9, the heat was so extreme that local clothing factories shut down at noon, giving 10,000 workers a half-day off. Temperatures inside the factories had reached 110 degrees.
An estimated 40,000 people flocked to Ontario Beach Park and Durand-Eastman Beach for relief. Thousands even slept on the sand, hoping to escape the oppressive heat—though overnight lows remained in the 80s.
Rochester reaches 101 degrees in 1911
On July 5, 1911, Rochester hit 101 degrees—the peak of a five-day heat wave that gripped the Northeast. That regional event was particularly deadly, claiming the lives of more than 500 people across the United States.
1953: The last time Rochester hit 100 degrees
On June 21, 1953, Rochester recorded a high of 100 degrees—the most recent time the city has officially reached the century mark. The heat followed a powerful overnight storm that knocked out power and phone lines south and east of the city, flooding basements and leaving many to cope with the aftermath in sweltering humidity.
Newspaper archives describe tens of thousands of residents seeking relief in parks and at beaches. Ontario Beach Park alone drew more than 16,000 visitors that day.
All-time hottest days in Rochester, NY
- 7/9/1936 102
- 7/10/1936 102
- 7/5/1911 101
- 7/8/1936 100
- 6/21/1953 100
- 7/3/1911 100
Other hot days (99 Degrees)
- 7/23/1933 99
- 8/26/1948 99
- 8/28/1948 99
- 9/3/1953 99
- 7/20/1894 99
- 7/4/1894 99
- 7/5/1897 99
- 7/2/1931 99