Globally, the Northern Hemisphere saw its second-hottest meteorological summer on record, NOAA found, while the year-to-date for the world overall ranks as the sixth warmest.
It was a relentlessly hot summer in much of the U.S., especially across the Plains, Southwest and West, according to new data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration .While each month had its own quirks, there were two constants: extreme heat in Texas and Oklahoma and damaging flash flooding in multiple locations across the country as rainfall records were shattered.
For meteorological summer, which runs from June 1 through Aug. 31, the U.S. average temperature was 2.5°F above average for the season. This made it the third-hottest summer in 128 years, NOAA found. Texas, Rhode Island and Massachusetts each had their second-warmest summers on record, while seventeen other states in the West, South and Northeast had one of their top 10 warmest summers.
The drought that covered 49% of the Lower 48 states at the start of the summer was less expansive by the end of the season. This was thanks in large part to showers and thunderstorms associated with the Southwest Monsoon.If you look closely at the July precipitation map, you can see a green splotch across eastern Missouri and southern Illinois, and another in large parts of eastern Kentucky.
Climate change is making extreme rainfall events more likely to occur and more intense, which can worsen flash flooding events.Between the lines:This summer featured
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