July’s relentless heat has rewritten U.S. climate records, with forecasters confirming it was the hottest month ever measured across the contiguous United States.
The average temperature across the lower 48 states reached 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit, about 3.3 degrees above the 20th-century norm, making it the warmest month in 132 years of federal recordkeeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
While Alaska saw unusually cool conditions, much of the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast endured temperatures well above average, NOAA reported.
The heat was especially striking in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, where cities including Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; and Washington, DC, logged their hottest Fourth of July on record, the agency said.
Even with overall precipitation running below average for the month, the lower 48 also faced episodes of extreme rainfall and several significant flash flooding events. In eastern New York, rainfall totals climbed to an extraordinary 12 inches in July.
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The widespread and oppressive heat surpassed the infamous July 1936 Dust Bowl record by 0.8 degrees. That summer, spanning June through August, remains tied with 2021 as the hottest summer in U.S. history.
During the 1936 event, the most intense heat was centered largely in the Midwest and was worsened by the farming practices of the era, according to Russ Vose, chief of monitoring at NOAA’s National Center for Environmental Information.
Scientists say today’s record-setting heat is being driven by the continued burning of coal, oil and gas.
“Extremely high temperatures across the continental US this summer, along with intense drought and fire conditions, are absolutely consistent with the climate change signal,’ said Katharine Jacobs, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona.
“If you’re talking heat waves, that nighttime low is incredibly important for determining total heat stress,” Masters said. “So if it doesn’t cool off at night, your body doesn’t have time to readjust to all the heat.”
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