97 degrees hottest temp since July 2012

When the temperature hit 97 degrees in Benson Monday, it was the hottest day the area has seen since July 16, 2012, when it reached 99 degrees.
Monday’s high fell 3 degrees short of the 100-degree mark. Benson hasn’t seen a triple digit high since July 31, 2006, when it hit 104 degrees tying the all-time temperature recorded in Benson. It also reached 104 degrees June 24, 1988.
A couple times this summer the 15-day National Weather Service forecast has included a 100-degree day in our near future. But each time as that forecasted hot day approached, it dropped the high into the 90s.
We’ve come close to 100 three times since 2006 with the high hitting 99 degrees. It hit 99 degrees twice in July 2012, July 4 and July 16. It also hit 99 degrees July 7, 2007. But it has now been nearly 11 years without a 100-degree high.
While the actual high didn’t reach 100 degrees, the area did see the heat index, a combination of the dew point and temperature, hit 101 degrees. When the temperature hit 93 degrees the dew point was a sultry 72 degrees making for a heat index of 101. As the temperature continued to rise, the dew point began to fall. But when it reached 97 degrees with the dew point down to 66 degrees, the two still combined for a heat index of 101 degrees....
 
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