July Was the Hottest Month Ever Recorded in the Lower 48, NOAA Says

July 2026 was the hottest month ever recorded across the contiguous United States, according to NOAA data reported August 10, setting a national climate milestone with implications for heat safety, water management, electricity demand and emergency planning.

The Lower 48 averaged 76.89 degrees Fahrenheit during July. That was about one-eighth of a degree warmer than the previous July record, set during the Dust Bowl in 1936. NOAA’s modern contiguous-U.S. record begins in 1895.

The result does not mean every location or every day was record-hot. It means temperatures were high across enough of the country, for enough of the month, to produce the highest nationwide monthly average in the record.

Heat was unusually widespread

Every one of the 48 contiguous states averaged at least 1 degree Fahrenheit above its 20th-century average for July. The strongest departures were reported across the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast.

The national average uses temperatures across the full 24-hour day, not only afternoon highs. Overnight conditions therefore played a major role in the record.

The old record for the hottest minimum temperatures was exceeded by about 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the Associated Press’s report on NOAA’s findings. Warm nights can leave the body with less time to cool and recover, increasing cumulative heat stress during prolonged hot weather. Homes that do not cool down overnight can also make sleep and recovery more difficult.

What NOAA expects next

NOAA’s August-through-October 2026 temperature outlook favors above-normal temperatures across much of the contiguous United States, especially parts of the West, South and East. It is a probabilistic outlook, not a guarantee that every location will remain hot or that every forecast will verify.

NOAA’s updated seasonal drought outlook favors drought persistence in the High Plains and in remaining drought areas of southern Texas. It also maintains the possibility of drought development in parts of the northern Plains and favors improvement across the Southeast.

Those conditions are relevant to water managers, farmers, utilities, wildfire agencies and emergency officials. Heat can raise electricity demand for cooling, increase water stress and dry vegetation, but the July temperature record alone does not establish the cause of any particular wildfire, drought episode or health outcome.

What the record means for residents

Residents should rely on local heat alerts and forecasts rather than a national average for immediate decisions. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends staying hydrated, limiting strenuous activity during the hottest periods, using air conditioning or a cooling location when needed, and checking on older adults, young children and people with medical conditions.

Warm overnight temperatures are a reason to take heat warnings seriously even when afternoon readings fall. People who work outdoors, lack reliable cooling or live with conditions affected by heat may need extra precautions.

Local governments and emergency agencies may use national climate data alongside local forecasts, drought monitors and infrastructure information when planning cooling-center operations, public messaging, worker protections, power demand and wildfire readiness. The next major checkpoints are NOAA’s next monthly climate release and the Climate Prediction Center’s scheduled August 20, 2026, outlook update. For immediate safety decisions, local forecasts and heat advisories remain more useful than the national record.

Sources

• NOAA Climate Prediction Center Seasonal Outlook Discussion
• Associated Press: NOAA says the Lower 48 set a record for hottest month in July
• CDC About Extreme Heat