First Half of Summer Off to a Scorching Start For Much of U.S.

Approximately 100 cities throughout the U.S. recorded the hottest start to the summer season on the record books. Almost every state has seen pockets of this extreme heat, proving that you are not just imagining that it has been a scorcher of a summer.

Where the Heat Stands at the Halfway Mark of the Summer

Several metropolitan areas in the U.S. are on track to record one of the 10 hottest summers in recorded history. This surge of heat did not come out of nowhere. Meteorologists had been warning about this possibility for months, pointing to the emergence of the La Niña climate phase and the growing impacts of global warming as reasons for the heat.

The summer of 2023 ended up being the warmest on record on a global scale due to climate change. Several U.S. states also recorded their hottest summer ever in 2023. However, the summer of 2024 is shaping up to be even steamier with the extreme heat impacting nearly every state in the Lower 48 this summer. The most significant heat has focused on the West Coast and the East Coast with the usual hot spots of the South trending a bit cooler.

Meteorologists use average daily temperatures to paint a picture of the heat. This average accounts for both the high and low readings of the day. These averages have climbed several degrees over the historical average for hundreds of communities since June 1, providing proof that the temperatures are indeed getting warmer both during the day and in the overnight hours.

While most people notice the increase in the daytime highs, it is the uptick in the overnight temperatures that causes the most issues for those without access to air conditioning. This is because warmer temperatures after the sun goes down translate to a decrease in the amount of time that the body has to cool itself naturally. The latest data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicates that summer nights have seen an increase in temperatures of twice the rate of afternoon highs since records started in the late 1800s.