| Thermal Map: | 500mb Height Field & 2m Temperature at 0z September 6th, 2000 - Central US Heat Wave.jpg |
| Thermal Map Caption: | MERRA2 data showing 2-meter temperature (in °C) and 500-millibar height fields at 7 p.m. CDT on September 5, 2000. |
| Start Date: | August 2000 |
| End Date: | September 2000 |
Aided by drought, a heat wave persisted in the late summer of 2000 along the southern tier of the United States from August to early September.[1] Near the end of the period, daily, monthly, and even all-time record high temperatures were broken, with highs commonly peaking well over . On August 30, Memphis saw its second highest temperature of 107 degrees, just one degree short of its all time high of 108 degrees set in 1980. On September 4, Houston hit and Dallas peaked at .[2] On September 5, Corpus Christi peaked at [3] and San Antonio rose to an all-time high of,[4] while College Station and Austin reached . Damage totaled $4 billion, mainly due to wildfires and crop losses, and there were 140 deaths.[5]