There’s no getting around it: It’s hot, Indy.
Last week’s temperate weather feels like a distant dream (sigh) and the week isn’t looking so cool, so we’re staying inside and checking out some of the headlines on the hottest day in Indianapolis history.
The day the heat set records
Indy’s hottest day on record took place on July 14, 1936, when temperatures hit a record-breaking 112°.
That sure puts this weather in perspective, huh? The closest we’ve come to that temperature in the past few weeks was when temps got to 86° on Aug. 14.
What the headlines said
So, what else was going on in Indy on the hottest day on record? Looking back, the Indianapolis Times predicted that the topic of Prohibition would sway voting in the upcoming presidential election. It also reproached a driver whose discarded cigarette started a fire that burned 60 acres along Kessler Boulevard. Sports coverage included a story about Elizabeth Dunn (the “Hoosier Golf Queen”) dominating the competition at the state women’s golf tournament.
Elizabeth Dunn won 10 consecutive Indianapolis women’s golf championships.
Clipping via Hoosier State Chronicles
The papers also covered the intense weather we were having at the time, reporting heavy crop damage and citizens in distress, and maintaining hope for a cool front arriving the next day that would reduce temps to the low 90s. Just a few pages later, a full-page ad for Block’s air-conditioned department store, once located at the southwest corner of Illinois and Market, said it all.
Ah, a suit — the perfect outfit for a 112° day.
Clipping via Hoosier State Chronicles
How to weather the weather today
Ok, so we’re not breaking records (yet), but that doesn’t mean braving this weather is easy. Thankfully, we have plenty of air-conditioned museums to visit, splash pads that are open through Labor Day and, if all else fails, lots and lots of ice cream.
Keep an eye out for a fall weather forecast coming soon. Who knows, maybe this could still be a record-breaking year after all.
