July 1936: An Examination of the Two Maximum Temperature Readings in the Towns of Fredonia and Alton, 121°F or 49.4°C

The focus of this paper is about two maximum temperatures in Kansas, July 1936; Alton in northcentral Kansas, 121 °F (49.4 °C) on July 24, and Fredonia – in southcentral Kansas, (same maximum temperature) on July 18. These temperatures were the highest readings ever in all but four southwestern states (California, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico (and a tie with Steele, ND). 1936 was a brutal year US climate history: with floods in the East, The Dust Bowl and heat waves in the Great Plains and Midwest. As with all weather and climate records, there is always the question of the accuracy of the record. In the study of the two 1936 Kansas maximum temperature records, however, there is good support for the 81 year record. First, the location of the instruments were in good shelters over grassy areas. Second, the synoptic maps of the two dates shows many readings of 120 and 118 and so on, from Texas to Nebraska; hence the numbers fit in the weather maps. Third, 20 C Reanalysis shows a huge heat dome over the eastern Great Plains and western Midwest. Finally, in the 1980’s the author was fortunate to have a discussion with the head meteorologist in Topeka, Kansas, and he felt very positive about the accuracy of the two records.