July and August typically have some of the hottest temperatures in many areas of the U.S., and it's also when a majority of states have recorded their all-time record highs.
The map below shows the hottest temperature on record for each state, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Every state, including Alaska and Hawaii, has recorded a high temperature of at least 100 degrees, according to NOAA, with many states well above 115 degrees.
Colorado is the most recent state to set a new all-time record high. On July 20, 2019, the temperature hit 115 degrees at John Martin Dam, which beat out the previous record of 114 degrees in Las Animas on July 1, 1933.
It is no surprise that the hottest temperatures in the U.S. have been recorded in the Desert Southwest. In fact, the highest temperature recorded in California, 134 degrees, is also the current hottest air temperature on record on Earth and was measured in Death Valley, California, on July 10, 1913.
Most of the Plains states, which also can be an area with extreme heat and large temperature variations, have recorded temperatures over 120 degrees. A high temperature of 121 degrees was measured as far north as Steele, North Dakota, on July 6, 1936 and many of the records in the Plains were set in 1936, during the peak of the Dust Bowl. Oklahoma, for instance, reached its record of 120 degrees four times and in three different locations in the summer of 1936.
The Pacific Northwest and the Midwest also have numerous states with records over 115 degrees. For example, the hottest temperature recorded in Oregon is 119 degrees which was set twice in 1898, once on July 29 in Prineville and then on August 10 in Pendleton. Two locations also hold the record of 118 degrees in Missouri and both occurred on the same day, July 14, 1954.
Record temperatures in the Northeast and South are not as hot as in the West, but there are still some notable records. The 109-degree record for Maryland was first set on July 3, 1898, in Boettcherville, but has since been tied five times in three locations. One of the most recent state records set in the South was in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 29, 2012, when the mercury soared to 113 degrees.
Also of interest is that Alaska and Hawaii share the same record high temperature of 100 degrees. Alaska's record was set in Fort Yukon on June 27, 1915, and Hawaii's record occurred on April 27, 1931, near Pahala on the Big Island.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.
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