Environmental News Network - U.S. Sweltered Through Third-Hottest Summer on Record

Details: By NOAA; 09.Sep

A top-10 warm August capped off a distinctly hot summer, as the U.S. saw its third-hottest meteorological summer on record.

Cheryl Porter

A top-10 warm August capped off a distinctly hot summer, as the U.S. saw its third-hottest meteorological summer on record.

Last month was also marked by several extreme rainfall events across the nation that resulted in historic flooding, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Climate by the numbers

Meteorological summer

For meteorological summer (June 1 through August 31), the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 73.9 degrees F, 2.5 degrees above average, ranking as the third-hottest summer in 128 years.

Summer temperatures were above average across most of the contiguous U.S. Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Texas each saw their second-warmest summer on record, while seventeen additional states across the West, South and Northeast saw their top-10 warmest summer on record.

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U.S. Sweltered Through Third-Hottest Summer on Record