It’s only 10:30 AM and it’s already 93° F (33.3° C).  I suspect we’re going to have a hot summer this year.

I know what you’re thinking.  I live in Texas and we assume every summer is hot, right?

You’re correct in that we have hot summers every year in the Lone Star State, but “hot” comes in varying degrees of severity.  It can mean a month or more of consecutive temperatures over 100° or it can mean a few days here and there over 100°.  It can mean our over 100° temperatures are no higher than 105° or it can mean we get as hot as 113°.  The heat can be so bad that we have widespread heat-related deaths or it can mean only a handful of mostly elderly and otherwise highly susceptible people are killed by it.

Will it be hot this year?  Of course — this is Texas.  It’s simply a question of severity.

Today is May 22 and we’ve already had four consecutive days in the mid- to upper-nineties which we normally don’t get until early- to mid-June.  I suspect that means we’re going to have a very unpleasant summer.