While the contiguous U.S. was breaking records with its wettest first eight months of the year, it also roasted through a warmer-than-average summer, with Alaska sweating through its second-hottest summer on record.
Here are more highlights from NOAA’s latest monthly U.S. climate report:
The average temperature for August across the contiguous U.S. was 73.9 degrees F (1.8 degrees above the 20th-century average), which ties with 1955 for the 13th warmest August on record. After being scorched in July, Alaska had an average temperature that ranked August in the upper third of the historical record. Near- and below-average temperatures were present across much of the central and northern Plains as well as across the Great Lakes.
The average precipitation for August in the contiguous U.S. was 2.74 inches (0.12 inch above average), which puts the month in the middle third of the 125-year record. Wetter-than-normal conditions were found from the northern Plains to the Gulf Coast. Nebraska and Kansas both had their wettest August on record.
Continue reading at NOAA.
Image via NOAA.