AUSTIN, Texas — Now that 2023 has ended, we can officially review just how the year ranked in the history books for Austin.
This past year was not only record-breaking – it ranked as the hottest year on record at Camp Mabry in Austin. The final average temperature for the year was 72.2 degrees, which is a tenth of a degree warmer than the previous hottest year of 2017.
Average temperature factors in the daytime highs and overnight lows throughout the year. A large contributing factor for this historically warm year was the record-breaking summer Austin experienced, including the shattered record for most consecutive days at or above 100 degrees (45 days).
The infamous 2011 officially ranks as the third hottest year on record at Camp Mabry.
While 2023 will go down in the history books for it's unprecedented heat, it didn't rank among the top driest years on record. Despite the ongoing drought in Central Texas, 2023 ranked as only the 34th driest year at Camp Mabry, with a total of 26.83 inches of rainfall. The driest year was 1954 with a grand total of only 11.42 inches of rain.
So what can we expect as we kick off 2024? Our current forecast calls for a cooler and wetter than average start to the year with multiple rain chances and temperatures trending below average for a majority of the week.
Here is a look at your extended forecast:
