Climate: 3d-warmest year-to-date for U.S.

Summer temps well above normal across U.S.

Every state was warmer than average for the summer

Staff Report

This year’s meteorological summer in the contiguous U.S. (June-August) will go down in the climate annals as the fifth-warmest on record, at 2.8 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average.

The year-to-date is the third-warmest on record, with Alaska on pace for a record-warm year after eight months, according to NOAA’s monthly State of the Climate summary, available here. August was the 17-warmest on record, with record warmth in the Northeast, and below average temperatures in the Southwest.

After record rain storms in parts of the Midwest and along the Gulf Coast, August ended up as the second wettest on record.

For the summer, according to NOAA, every state across the contiguous U.S., had a statewide temperature that was above average. Twenty-nine states across the West and in the East were much warmer than average for the summer. California, Connecticut and Rhode Island each had their warmest summer on record.

Alaska observed its second warmest summer in its 92-year record at 53.6°F, 3.0°F above average. Only the summer of 2004 was warmer with a statewide temperature value of 55.9°F. Several locations across the state were record warm including Anchorage, Kenai, King Salmon and Yakutat.

The full report will be available Sept. 13 here.