July was just the hottest month on record in the contiguous U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – and shows little signs of slowing down for August.
Fortunately, it appears temperatures will drop for many areas this week – but much of the southern U.S. will see dangerous heat before the end of August.
Wildfire (Image: USDA)
“Potentially record-breaking heat will grip the Southeast to south-central U.S. into next week, with heat indices reaching 105–115 degrees Fahrenheit and little nighttime relief,” NOAA’s National Weather Service warned.
August is typically not quite as hot as July, but meteorologists say the record sets up August for more extreme events. Some local records have already been broken.
“Wow – Pueblo just set its all-time hottest August temperature on record. 107 degrees at the Pueblo Airport so far,” Colorado meteorologist Chris Bianchi wrote on Bluesky. “That’s also just two degrees shy of the all-time hottest temp there.”
It remains to be seen whether it could be the hottest August on record, too.
July averaged a temperature of 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which was the highest average temperature for the region since record keeping began in 1895.
Read more: Independent on MSN
