U.S. records warmest July on record, NOAA reports

The United States experienced its warmest month on record in July, with an average temperature of 76.9°F, 3.3°F above the 20th-century mean, NOAA said in its climate summary released on Aug. 10. The figure edged out previous highs set in July 1936 and July 2012 and broke more than 200 all-time temperature records at weather stations across the contiguous states. Every state recorded July temperatures above the 20th-century average, placing them in the top third of warmest Julys on record.

Overnight temperatures were especially high, exceeding the July 2022 record by 0.7°F, and contributed to widespread disruptions, including impacts on celebrations of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Wyoming logged its warmest July ever, with some northern areas up to 10°F above normal, according to Tony Bergantino, director of the state climate center at the University of Wyoming.

Rainfall in July was among the driest third of all recorded months, with the national average about 0.25 inch below the long-term mean, although isolated regions saw above-average precipitation. The August outlook calls for above-average temperatures across the central and southern United States, a greater than 50% chance of warmth in coastal California and the southern Plains, and mixed precipitation chances nationwide. Firefighters are contending with more than 100 large wildfires in 16 states, and the risk of additional wildfire activity is projected to remain above normal.

Globally, sea-surface temperatures outside the polar regions reached record highs, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, driven in part by strengthening El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific. The average global temperature for July was the second-warmest on record, tied with July 2024 and behind July 2023. Marine heatwaves pushed ocean temperatures to new records along Europe’s Atlantic coast and the western Mediterranean, while major rivers such as the Seine, Rhine and Danube experienced unusually low flows.

El Niño continues to raise Pacific equatorial ocean temperatures, with forecasts indicating further warming through the year. The phenomenon is expected to increase tropical storm activity in the Pacific and suppress Atlantic tropical development due to enhanced wind shear.