In July of 1936 The Unthinkable Happened in St. Louis

St. Louis is no stranger to heat. In fact, if you're from the Midwest or spent any time during the summer months, then you likely already know all about the excessive heat in Missouri. Sure, the summer weather in Missouri can also be beautiful, especially on those crisp, breezy evenings. But this was not the case back in the 1930s when some of the hottest days in St Louis were ever recorded. Today, we're lucky to have air conditioning units to temper the heat. But back then, the highest temperatures in St. Louis peaked, resulting in tragedy all throughout the city.

The summer of 1934 was so hot even Louis Armstrong was sweating. Metal tar roofs on brick homes began to melt and streets were buckling.

In 1934 the temperatures remained 100 degrees for 29 days killing 420 people. The high for the summer was 111 degrees. Trees were dying at Missouri Botanical Gardens and farmers were forced to pay for water for their crops.

There were no air conditioning units and the heat was so stifling that thousands of St. Louis residents were forced out of their brick homes. They slept in parks and on country roads for weeks to escape the sweltering homes. Hospital beds filled up and six to nine people were dying a day.

However, it was the heatwave two years later, in 1936 that broke records in St. Louis by lasting well through July. Sweating through a 37-day stretch of at least 100 degrees, the people of St. Louis were miserable. The heat broke on July 30th, but started up again in the triple digits by August 9th and lasted several more weeks. The 1936 heatwave killed 479 people, including 29 children.

Our city has seen several horrifying heat waves since. One in July of 1954 hit St. Louis and brought more deaths. Temperatures were in the triple digits and again thousands of residents escaped to parks to sleep at night. Forest Park was filled with families trying to find relief but the temperatures did not dip below 100 degrees until 9:00 p.m.

On July 14, 1954, the temperature hit 115 degrees and killed 20 people in one day. The people of St. Louis did everything possible to cool off but there was little or no relief to be found.

The heatwave broke for a couple of days and then lasted another week, killing 104 people. The Mississippi was so low it barely contained enough water for boat traffic for weeks.

These heatwaves were three horrible moments in St. Louis history we hopefully won't have to repeat. We are blessed with air conditioning now and fans are plentiful for most of us. Please remember that many people are without air conditioning or on a budget. Check on the elderly and keep your animals watered and out of the heat as much as possible. This week when you are so hot you can't breathe remember what it must have been like for the residents living through the hottest days in St Louis. Click here to see more Missouri disasters.