NOAA calculated a July average temperature of 76.89 F across the contiguous United States. The value was 0.125 F above July 1936, the previous national July record in observations dating to 1895. Every state in the Lower 48 averaged at least 1 F above its 20th-century July average. NOAA’s national average edged past the Dust Bowl-era record, driven especially by unusually warm nights.
Average nighttime minimum temperatures set the stronger record and were about 0.7 F above the previous mark. The national average combines daily high and low observations across a large monitoring network. The first seven months of 2026 did not make every region the warmest on record, despite the July national record. Warm nighttime temperatures can increase health risk because bodies and indoor spaces have less time to cool.
A national mean can coexist with shorter cool periods or local areas that do not set individual records. NOAA’s historical comparison uses a consistent national dataset designed for long-term climate monitoring. The 1936 benchmark occurred during the Dust Bowl, but the weather pattern and background climate are not identical to 2026. One month does not determine a full-year ranking, although it contributes to the annual average.
Climate attribution analyzes how warming changes event probability and intensity rather than assigning a single observation to one cause. The contiguous United States averaged 76.89 F in July, about one-eighth of a degree above the previous record from 1936. The source record distinguishes verified observations and published data from attributed institutional or political claims; where a source described a claim rather than independently proving it, this account preserves that attribution.
The national record does not describe every local impact and the annual 2026 ranking will not be known until later months are included. The next dated evidence to compare is noaa’s final summer and annual rankings, followed by regional nighttime-temperature and heat-health data. Those records will show which preliminary details hold, which totals change and which announced actions become operational.