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August 10, 2026 / 3:53 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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July was "a wild weather month," setting a record as the warmest month ever for the contiguous United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday.Temperatures last month averaged 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit as above-average warmth blanketed the U.S., and several locations in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana saw all-time high temperature records since NOAA started keeping track in 1895.Last month was 0.1 to 0.2 degrees warmer than July 1936 and July 2012, according to the agency. July also broke the record for the average low temperature, at 64.2 degrees, surpassing July 2022 by 0.7 degrees.A heat wave that began in early July placed more than 185 million people under heat alerts, including residents of multiple major metropolitan areas, like Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The Independence Day parade in the nation's capital was among several events that had to be canceled or postponed due to the extreme heat.Just a week after heat and severe storms marred July Fourth celebrations, a heat dome trapped more of the country under relentless warmth and humidity. Salt Lake City reached an all-time high on July 12, with temperatures reaching 109 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.Forecasters had called the unusually prolonged bout of heat "exceptionally rare" for some locations, even in mid-July.The extreme temperatures also brought heavy rain and major floods — including in the Texas Hill Country and eastern New York — despite below-average precipitation across the contiguous U.S., NOAA said. The U.S. precipitation average for July ranked third driest on record.
