{"id":405869,"date":"2025-11-26T11:39:16","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/405869\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T11:39:16","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T11:39:16","slug":"2025s-state-fair-of-texas-was-hottest-in-at-least-24-years-is-there-anything-to-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/405869\/","title":{"rendered":"2025\u2019s State Fair of Texas was hottest in at least 24 years. Is there anything to be done?"},"content":{"rendered":"

2025 broke another heat record that shouldn\u2019t surprise any North Texan.<\/p>\n

This State Fair of Texas<\/a> was the hottest since at least 2001, with an average high of 88.4 degrees. But this year wasn\u2019t an anomaly, according to data from the National Weather<\/a> Service\u2019s Fort Worth office. Other years in recent memory have come close, with an average high of 87 degrees in 2024 and 2021.<\/p>\n

Karissa Condoianis, a spokesperson for the fair, said rain has traditionally been the biggest weather issue for the fair, but heat has become more of a concern in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe heat piece is something we\u2019ve been anecdotally talking about the last few years \u2026 and this was the first year we really dug in [to the data],\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

D-FW Weather Wise<\/p>\n

From snow to 100-degree heat, we’ve got you covered.<\/p>\n

By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n

Maximum temperatures in Dallas over the fair\u2019s 24-day run \u2014 from late September through October \u2014 have been trending higher. Often over 85 degrees in the last few years, the average temperature was regularly near, or even below, 80 degrees in the early 2000s. And it\u2019s not just the fair. Texas State Climatologist John Nielsen-Gammon previously said<\/a> that across every season, Texas is getting hotter. <\/p>\n

Some vendors and operators say they\u2019ve noticed an impact.<\/p>\n

Christi Erpillo, of Fernie\u2019s Funnel Cakes, said the fair almost always starts hot, but a cold front usually moves in during the 24 days. She calls the cooler temperatures they\u2019re left with \u201cfair weather.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Christi<\/p>\n

Christi Erpillo (left) and Johnna McKee took over their mother Wada \u201cFernie\u201d Winter\u2019s Fernie\u2019s Funnel Cakes at the State Fair of Texas. The stand served the fair\u2019s first funnel cakes in 1969. <\/p>\n

Christine Vo \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n

Erpillo said the \u201cfair weather\u201d never came in 2025, which she believes had an impact on sales. But Fernie\u2019s is fortunate to have five locations across the grounds, one indoors, which she said can help limit the impact of weather on the business. <\/p>\n

The State Fair of Texas saw its lowest attendance this year<\/a> since at least 2017, at just over 2,020,000 visitors. Fair officials pointed to other issues as the main causes, like broad economic pressures and concerns about the presence of immigration officials. Still, they said the heat also likely played a role.<\/p>\n

Condoianis said that while the fair does not have any heat-specific changes it\u2019s planning to make at the moment, the team is always reevaluating and looking for new ideas. She pointed to the shade coverings on the midway as one solution already implemented.<\/p>\n

Asked if the fair would ever consider moving its dates later to beat the rising heat, Condoianis reiterated that the fair is always assessing potential changes but said it would \u201cinvolve a lot of different parties\u201d to consider a change like that. She pointed to the staggered nature of state fairs across the country, as multiple ride operators and vendors travel to work several fairs. The fair\u2019s contract with the city of Dallas also hinges on the fair starting on the final Friday of September.<\/p>\n

Erpillo said Fernie\u2019s Funnel Cakes will be at the fair no matter the dates, but other food vendors raised concerns.<\/p>\n

Brent and Juan Reaves, respectively president and vice president of Smokey John\u2019s Bar-B-Que and Home Cooking<\/a>, said shifting the dates of the fair later in the year would likely make other aspects of their business more difficult since they also operate a restaurant.<\/p>\n

As soon as the fair concludes, they shift into preparing for Thanksgiving catering orders and Christmas celebrations just after. For those seasons to overlap \u201cwouldn\u2019t assist us,\u201d Juan said.<\/p>\n

\"Brent<\/p>\n

Brent Reaves (left) and Juan Reaves pose for a photograph with the new deep fried deli taco from the Smokey John’s BBQ State Fair booth in Dallas on Sept. 30, 2025.<\/p>\n

Jason Janik \/ Special Contributor<\/p>\n

The brothers did say they remember much cooler temperatures at the fair from their childhoods, which they do miss. Those chillier temperatures can push people to opt for something warm and comforting to eat, which Juan said can be an advantage in selling barbecue. But Texans will eat barbecue no matter the weather, and he said it\u2019s not a big enough benefit to make changing the dates worth it.<\/p>\n

As the fair considers changes, Condoianis said the team also appreciates hearing from fairgoers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are not shy about reaching out and sharing what they think,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we love that because it means they\u2019re invested in the state fair.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"2025 broke another heat record that shouldn\u2019t surprise any North Texan. This State Fair of Texas was the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":405870,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,285,1596,7712,746,7348,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969,313],"class_list":{"0":"post-405869","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-fortworth","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-state-fair-of-texas","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa","22":"tag-weather"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115615811359120402","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}