What Was Yakima's Summer Temperature Compared To Average?

Today is the last day of meteorological summer, and many have been talking about this summer seeming cooler than an average Yakima summer. Is this just you, or is there some truth to it? We crunched the numbers.

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Summer of '26

You might be surprised to learn that this summer has actually been 2 degrees above the historical average high temperature. The average Yakima summer high is a perfect 85, with this summer raking in an average of 87. 2026 ranks as Yakima's 22nd hottest summer in history. How come it's felt colder? Well, it's due to a number of reasons.

scenery of a grassfield during sunset — Photo by D R on Unsplash

Reasons We Felt Colder

For one, we were not pummeled with a prolonged stretch of 100+ degree days like we often are in summer. Only 3 days went above 100, and only for one day at a time. Compare that to the summer of 2021, when 19 days reached above 100, with a streak of 6 days in a row peaking on June 29th, when the high reached a scorching 113! Also, consider yourself lucky if you have air conditioning—our hottest month on record was July 1906! If you wanted to cool down, I guess you could take a horse and buggy to the river.

Secondly, our summers have seen a profound cooling trend this decade. Each summer after 2021 has been colder than the last, save for last year, with this year being the coldest since 2020.

2021 Was An Outlier

Many in Yakima compare our summers now to the memorable summer of 2021. However, 2021 was an extreme outlier, as it was our 2nd hottest summer in recorded history, caused by a historic, once-in-a-generation heat dome! The average high temperature in the summer of 2021 was a whopping 7 degrees above average! The summers since have only seen us return to normalcy.

Will Yakima summers continue to cool down throughout this decade, or will we have to bear another 2021? Let us know!