Eaton Canyon Experiences It’s Hottest Summer Ever in 2022, Now Our Second Hottest Year Ever
With an average temperature of 69.64°F (20.91°C), Pasadena, California has just experienced it’s 2nd hottest year on record. The current record for our hottest year is 2014 with an average temperature of 70.44°F. Weather records have been kept in downtown Pasadena continuously since 1908, and during that time the average temperature has risen 6.84°F (3.81°C). Granted, that weather station is experiencing an urban heat island effect, but temperatures have still risen sharply in the canyon over the last ~100 years due to global climate change.
2022 saw a number of records fall, including the most afternoons in a single summer over 90°F (111 days), the most afternoons in a row over 105°F (8 days), and the hottest month ever. August 2022 beat July 2006 for the hottest month ever recorded in Pasadena. The month lacked any serious heatwaves. Rather, it was scorching hot for the entire duration of the month with no cooler than average days. Unfortunately, September 2022 hosted our longest, worst heatwave ever recorded in this part of Southern California with a whopping 8 days over 105°F in a row. It, not surprisingly, then stole the record from August 2022 to become our new hottest month ever recorded. With June 2022 also being our hottest June ever, summer 2022 easily slid into first place for our hottest summer ever in the canyon.
Temperature anomalies backed off in autumn, and October, November, and December were rather tame. After the scorching hot October 2020 and November 2021, it was nice to see those months cool off in 2022. The 2022-2023 water year stands at 13.51″ of rainfall as of January 6th, 2023, significantly above the average for this time of year.
