What Living Through the Hottest July Ever Looked Like Across the U.S.

Storyby The Bench fire burns along the banks of the Deschutes River in Jefferson County, Oregon on July 25, 2026 Noah Berger—APThis July was the hottest month ever recorded in United States history. Last month’s average temperature was 3.3°F (1.8°C) higher than the 20th century average for the contiguous United States,

The average temperature in the lower 48 states in July was 76.9 degrees Fahrenheit, roughly 3.3 degrees above the 20th-century average.

Although it was unusually cool in Alaska, hotter-than-normal conditions blanketed the Lower 48, with the most excessive heat in the Mountain West, Southwest, Northern Plains and Southeast.

The record came after weeks of intense heatwaves, prolonged periods of extreme temperatures and widespread wildfires.The United States has recorded its hottest month in more than a century of official temperature records. July’s average temperature was 76.89F (24.94C) across the Lower 48 states, according to the Nation

US records hottest month as relentless July heat shatters records  USA Today

Scientists have made clear that the elevated heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis July was the hottest month ever recorded in the US, with repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records stretching back over the full 132

Federal agency says the contiguous United States in July set a record for its hottest month