The NWS out of La Crosse reminded everyone today to not complain about the heat today. On this date back in 1934, Rochester had it's warmest May day on record topping out at 106°. A heat wave over took the upper Mississippi Valley and we were not the warmest location. Grand Meadow set a record of 107°. The highest recorded temp was in Maple Plain Minnesota with a scorching 112°.
Now imagine yourself back in 1934. Air conditioning was not readily available until the 1950's so the only place for people to escape the heat would have been water locations or shaded areas. The nation was in the middle of the great depression and families could not afford to travel to escape the heat so most were forced to deal with it.