The warmest summer on record: 2026 hit a scorching new high in the US
If this summer felt hotter than usual, you're not alone.
As it turns out, this past summer was the hottest on record in the United States.
This is the hottest that summer in the U.S. has been in at least 132 years.
Specifically, the temperatures rose to 3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.67 degrees Celsius) above average, beating out the most recent record set in 2021 of 0.4 degrees F (0.22 degrees C) above average, according to a new report from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
And looking month-to-month, this was also the hottest August we've ever seen.
The record-breaking season saw unmatched temperature highs across the contiguous U.S. (all of the adjoining states, excluding Alaska and Hawaii which just aren't a part of this record) from June through August.
But scorching temperatures aren't all that this new record reveals, as this summer was also one of the driest on record for the contiguous U.S., with more than half of the country in a drought by September.
The summer of 2026 saw both extreme precipitation highs and lows across the country, too.
From droughts to heavy rain, there was nothing average about the precipitation seen across the U.S. this summer.
A closer look Digging into some of the details, the full summer was 3 degrees F above the average for the season, 74.4 degrees F (23.5 degrees C).
August was 3.5 degrees F (1.94 degrees C) above average for the month at 75.6 F (24.2 C).
And while most of the contiguous U.S. experienced well above average temperatures this summer, some locations felt the heat the most.
The Southwest, the southern Rockies, the southwestern Plains, southern Florida, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado hit particularly high temperatures this August.
Looking at the summer's unusual precipitation levels, the total precipitation across the contiguous U.S. was 0.32 inches (0.8 centimeters) below average, making this past summer the third driest on record, and the driest summer since 2000.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.space.com — the content belongs to Space.com.
