These days, many U.P. residents rely on air conditioning in some form to stay cool, especially when the house gets hot after an extended warm spell. Those who forgo air conditioners are fortunate as of late.
The warmest low temperature this summer was just this morning– Wednesday, July 26– at a comfortable 66°. Over the last five summers, there has been only one night where the temperature failed to fall below 70° at the National Weather Service. That was on June 21, 2022 with a low of 73°.
This lack of stifling nights goes back to the start of the 21st century. For instance, since 2000, Marquette has only had one record-warm low temperature set in July. That was a not-so-hot record-tying 71° set on July 17, 2013. Iron Mountain has two standalone record warm lows so far in the 21st century: the 72° and 73° lows on July 16-17, 2006.
The real stifling low temperatures occurred years ago over much of the country, including the U.P. Iron Mountain has failed to fall below 80° for a nighttime low five times. All these hot nights occurred over 100 years ago: 83° on July 2, 1919; July 12, 1921; and July 20, 1918; and 85° on July 21, 1918 and July 27, 1919. Iron Mountain’s all-time warmest low was 85° on those two consecutive summers.
Marquette has three July lows above 80°– one in 1916 and two consecutive scorching hot lows during the heat wave of 1936. Houghton’s only 80° nighttime low also occurred during that famous heat wave.
