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2023 has been one of Missouri's hottest years on record, and one of its driest too

St. Louis Public Radio | By Kate Grumke

Published December 19, 2023 at 4:00 AM CST

Seen through fog that accumulated on the camera’s lens due to high heat and humidity, a Parkway North football players walk down a hallway on Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, at Parkway North High School in north St. Louis county. Extreme temperatures made it too dangerous for the team to practice outside, so the JV and Varsity squads walked through plays and ran drills in the basketball gym.

Worldwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week that 2023 has a greater than 99% chance of being the hottest on record. During the August heat wave in Missouri, the state saw more than 260 temperature records tied or broken.

Scientists say 2023 was almost certainly the hottest year the world has ever recorded, but that likely wasn’t quite the case locally.

Worldwide, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said last week that 2023 has a greater than 99% chance of being the hottest on record.

While local numbers aren’t quite breaking the record, they are definitely above average. Missouri has seen the eighth-hottest year through November, while Illinois has recorded the seventh hottest. December’s data could change those numbers.

“At this point, it's certainly looking like December's also going to be an above-normal month as well,” said Missouri State Climatologist Zack Leasor. “And this could contribute and maybe bump us up a few rankings at the end of the year.”

As the region is getting warmer, it is staying warmer overnight. That means it’s even harder to keep homes and buildings cool. During the August heat wave in Missouri, the state saw more than 260 tied or broken highest low temperatures.

“While temperatures are overall warming, we're seeing those minimum temperatures warm even quicker,” Leasor said. “And both of these are kind of a signal for climate change.”

While Missouri saw broken heat records, Leasor said another climate story will actually define 2023 — drought.

The time period from April to November was the seventh-driest Missouri has recorded, with precipitation about 8 inches below normal. Leasor said this is likely a 1-in-20-year drought. That time period of record-setting dry months was especially bad for farmers.

“It actually made some of the impacts worse this year from the drought because it was literally the entire growing season, from planting in April to when harvest was wrapped up in November,” Leasor said.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson last month extended the state’s drought alert through May 2024.

“While we've had periods of marginal improvement, farmers and ranchers are still feeling the impacts, many forced to sell livestock early and scrambling for alternative feed sources,” Parson said in a statement. “Some of the most impacted areas are our waterways, slowing barge and river port activity during our busy harvest season.”

Currently, large swaths of Missouri are experiencing moderate to severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The southern half of Illinois is also experiencing drought.
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