PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK

In August 1918, the city of Pittsburgh reached a record-breaking temperature of 103 degrees, and it was all Henry Pennywitt’s fault.

This early-August scorcher marked the hottest day in 37 years. Pittsburghers were collapsing in the streets, practically melting into the pavement in the boiling conditions. Four reportedly died of heat exhaustion.

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While Pennywitt, Pittsburgh’s chief weather forecaster in the early 20th century, was not actually to blame for the scorching summer heat, the people of Pittsburgh could not be convinced.

According to news sources, Pennywitt was blamed for hot days, cold days and basic precipitation, despite his insistence on the science behind the weather. One headline from 1907 read, “The man who makes the Pittsburgh weather is called upon to explain.”

The meteorologist certainly caught some heat on that record-breaking day in August. While the weather center atop the Oliver Building reported 103 degrees, unofficial reports from news sources across the city claimed temperatures as high as 120 degrees. The city even recommended a ration on ice as there was a dangerous county-wide shortage.

Pittsburgh temperatures did not climb this high again until July 16, 1988.