When we talk about periods of hot weather around here, we often look at streaks of 90-degree days. But how about some real heat: stretches of 100-degree weather?

In both Wilmington and Philadelphia, the longest streak of 100-degree days that I could find is 3 in a row. That has occurred a few times in both places. Philadelphia was in the middle of a 3-day streak of 100-degree scorchers on this day in 1966, when the mercury soared to 104. That's still the second highest temperature ever officially recorded in the city. The next day, July 4, 1966, the temperature topped out at 103, making it the hottest Independence Day on record. That same day, the mercury climbed to 102 in Wilmington, also a record for heat on the 4th of July.

With Independence Day heat like that, the 76 degrees that Thomas Jefferson measured as the high in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, seems chilly in comparison. Have a great 4th of July.