FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) — Last week and into the weekend, we experienced an impressive heatwave for this time of year. While Monday last week was in the upper 70s, the rest of the time was spent in the 80s, giving us 6 straight days in the 80s. We average about 8 days at 80 or above in Fort Wayne, but most of our 80s weren’t just the low 80s this go around, they were in the mid to upper 80s.

In fact, the stretch from May 9th through May 15th had an average high of 84.9°. That is nearly 14 degrees above average and ranks as the warmest for that period in Fort Wayne history. The average near 85° is similar to temperatures we would experience in early to mid-July!

The lows were also mild with lows averaging nearly 58 degrees for the last week. That’s about 8 and a half degrees above average, and 3rd warmest for that stretch.

As a result of the well above average highs, it’s no surprise that the mean temperature, which includes highs and lows, was 11° above what is typical for May 9th through May 15th. It also ranked as the warmest average mean temperature in Fort Wayne history during that range.

So does the summer heat in early to mid-May mean the summer will be toasty and above average?

Let’s look at some similar years 1991 and 1985, which had an average high of 84.4° and 83.9° during the same stretch of May in their respective years. The average mean temperature was just about 70° for both years as well.

In 1991, June was pretty well above average by 3 to 4 when it comes to highs and the average mean. July and August were also above average, but by not as much, only 1 to 2 degrees above.

The summer of 1985 was actually cooler than average for June when it comes to the high and the mean. While the month of July was above average by 1 to 2 degrees and August was pretty close to average. Now, these are just two years we are looking at but the argument could be made that our summer is favoring near to above-average temperatures for June through August.

Looking at the Climate Prediction Center Temperature Outlook that argument has some backup, as the current outlook for June July, and August favors above-average temperatures, not just for the Midwest but in fact the entire country. Especially through the southwest and Northeastern US.