Contiguous US breaks its record for hottest month ever, NOAA says
Seth Borenstein
Associated Press
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FILE - Mickelina Papotto, of Salem, Ore., left, and Lorie Odegaard, of Gaithersburg, Md., fan themselves while waiting in line for the ferris wheel at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)FILE - Ruth, 11, from Burke, Va., gets cold water poured on her head to cool off at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, July 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)FILE - Daniel Aragonez leaves a cooling center in Los Angeles, July 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)FILE - Simone Mosley waits for their ride in shade at a bus stop during an extreme heat warning July 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt, File)FILE - Dean Malcom drinks water while wiring street lights in extremely hot weather July 14, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
FILE - Mickelina Papotto, of Salem, Ore., left, and Lorie Odegaard, of Gaithersburg, Md., fan themselves while waiting in line for the ferris wheel at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall, July 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
KENSINGTON, Md. – The contiguous United States set a record for its hottest month ever in July, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Last month averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit (24.94 degrees Celsius) across the Lower 48 states, eclipsing the Dust Bowl’s July 1936 by an eighth of a degree.
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Although it was unusually cool in Alaska, hotter than normal conditions blanketed the Lower 48, with the most excessive heat in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast.
The biggest driver of the heat was at night. Nighttime lows, which are crucial for people and agriculture to recover from hot days, smashed the old record for hottest minimums by 0.7 degrees, NOAA said. Hotter nights are a classic sign of human-caused climate change, according to scientists.
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