Misty Smith swings her son, Malieke Smith, in the water Sunday in the Passage in downtown Chattanooga. With summer less than a week old, the Chattanooga area is already in the longest stretch of 90-plus-degree days so far this year.After a slightly cool early June, summer weather warmed up to 99 degrees Sunday, and temperatures may reach triple digits this week.
Each day between Wednesday and Sunday exceeded 90 degrees, with Sunday’s temperature just under 100 degrees, according to data from the National Weather Service’s Morristown office.
That’s lower than the record of 101 set in 1988, but the string of hot days has brought the monthly average back to normal after the early part of June was as much as 8 degrees cooler than usual.
Average highs in late June tend to hover around 90 degrees, NWS records show.
Around town, people did what they could to beat the Sunday heat. The Singer family came from Bell Buckle, Tenn., and enjoyed the frozen lemonade at the Chattanooga Market before heading out to the crowded fountain at Coolidge Park with 5-year-old daughter Kylie.