U.S. Weather Alert: Summer 2026 Becomes Hottest in 132 Years as Drought Reaches 59.1%

Washington, D.C. – Record heat reshaped the United States this summer, with the June-through-August average temperature climbing above every other meteorological summer in 132 years of records as drought expanded across more than half the contiguous country.

According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, summer 2026 was the warmest on record for the contiguous United States, surpassing the previous records from 1936 and 2021 by 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit. August alone averaged 75.6 degrees, making it the warmest August in records dating to 1895. The nationwide average daytime maximum reached a record 86.6 degrees.

The most persistent summer heat centered on the Southwest, where NOAA’s temperature map places extensive portions of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado in the warmest category. Florida and smaller pockets elsewhere also reached record territory.

Rainfall produced a sharp regional divide during August. Much of the Midwest and Ohio Valley received much-above-average precipitation, while sections of the southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley finished much below average. Drivers should remain alert to local flood or drought impacts despite summer’s end.

Hawaii faced a different extreme as Hurricane Lala brought heavy rainfall, helping produce the state’s second-wettest August since 1991.

By Sept. 1, drought covered 59.1% of the contiguous United States, an increase of more than 10 percentage points from early August. The figures leave drought and lingering heat impacts as key concerns heading into fall.