2023 was the fourth warmest year on record in Memphis
Memphis was sizzling in 2023 as weather patterns were warmer and drier all around.
The National Weather Service recently released its data compiling all of the information for weather in 2023. Overall, Memphis saw a warmer year than usual. The year also had a good amount of rainfall but there was not a great difference between this year's rainfall and the normal amount.
"The average high temperature and average low temperature were 1.5 and 1.8 degrees above normal respectively, resulting in the average temperatures for the year to be 65.1 degrees" Desiree Meadows, a meteorologist and the Climate Program Leader at the NWS in Memphis, said.
The average temperature for 2023 ties 1998 as the fourth warmest year on record. Here's how 2023's stats compare to previous years.
Was the weather in 2023 above normal in Memphis?
According to the NWS, the average high temperature in Memphis in 2023 was 74.5 degrees which is 1.5 higher than the normal high temperature. Similarly, the average low temperature was 55.8 degrees which was 2 degrees higher than the normal low temperature.
The typical average annual temperature in Memphis is 63.4 degrees according to Meadows. In 2022, the average was 64 degrees, and in 2021, the average was 63.8 degrees. Both years were slightly above normal, but not as much as 2023 which was 1.7 degrees above. Meadows says the area hasn't seen an above-normal greater than one full degree in the last several years.
2023 also saw a little more rain than the normal amount since it started recording in 1875. The total rainfall in 2023 was 55.48 inches which is 0.54 inches above normal. In the Midsouth, Memphis was the only area to see more rain than the norm in 2023.
What was the warmest year in Memphis?
The warmest year on record in Memphis is 2012. Twelve years ago, the average high was 65.9 degrees. 2012 also recorded the warmest March ever with the highs averaging 64.8 degrees.
The highest temperature recorded in Memphis was July 13, 1980, when the high reached 108 degrees.
Here are the five warmest years on record:
1 2012: 65.9 degrees
2 2016: 65.8 degrees
3 2007: 65.6 degrees
4 1998: 65.1 degrees
5 1921: 65.0 degrees
What was the coldest year in Memphis?
The coldest year in Memphis was much further in the past than the warmest year − 1940 to be exact. In 1940, the average lows were recorded at 59.3 degrees. 1940 also had the coldest January ever recorded with a temperature of 26.7 degrees.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Memphis was on Dec. 24, 1963, at a frosty -13 degrees.
Here are the five coldest years on record: 1 1940: 59.3 degrees 2 1917: 59.6 degrees 3 1886: 59.8 degrees 4 1912: 59.8 degrees 5 1958: 59.8 degrees
What was the snowiest year in Memphis?
The snowiest season in Memphis was during the 1917-1918 winter. During this season, there were 25.1 inches of snow that fell. 1918 had the second coldest month recorded in Memphis in January when the temperature was 27.6 degrees.
Here are the five snowiest seasons on record:
1 1917-1918: 25.1 inches
2 1891-1892: 24.0 inches
3 1967-1968: 23.8 inches
4 1984-1985: 20.7 inches
5 1959-1960: 20.5 inches
What was the wettest year in Memphis?
The wettest year recorded in Memphis history was in 1957. During that year, a cumulative of 76.85 inches of rain fell. In 1957, there was a total of 11.39 inches of rain that fell during January − the seventh-highest number of all time in Memphis.
The wettest day on record was on Nov. 21, 1934. On that day, 10.32 inches of rain fell.
Here are the five wettest years on record:
1 1957: 76.85 inches
2 1996: 76.19 inches
3 2002: 74.84 inches
4 2019: 73.65 inches
5 1877: 73.50 inches
What was the driest year in Memphis?
The driest year ever recorded in Memphis was over 100 years ago in 1916. During that year, there was only 33.44 inches of rainfall. This year, Memphis had the third driest November recorded with only 0.86 inches of rain.
Here are the five driest years on record:
1 1916: 33.44 inches
2 1901: 34.58 inches
3 1925: 34.67 inches
4 2007: 34.81 inches
5 1941: 34.83 inches