The summer of 2026 was a hot one for many

The Summer of 2026 brought exceptional heat to many parts of the world, including the U.S. According to the World Meteorological Organization, there were many record-breaking temperatures, persistent heat waves, drought, and elevated wildfire danger across the Northern Hemisphere during the summer season.

While many regions endured extreme heat, others experienced destructive flooding, especially across southeastern Asia and parts of Africa. It was also very hot in Canada as extreme heat helped to trigger large thunderstorms on July 1, Canada Day, which contributed to widespread flooding and thousands of homes being without power.

The summer of 2026 was exceptionally hot across the Lower 48 of the United States. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), June–August 2026 was the warmest meteorological summer in the U.S. since records began in the 1890s. The national average temperature during the summer was 74.4°F (23.6°C), approximately 3.0°F (1.7°C) above the 20th-century average.

According to an article on CNN, the U.S. had its hottest summer in recorded history. It was even hotter than the infamous “Dust Bowl” summer of 1936. The article states that 1,541 record monthly high temperatures were either broken or tied. Only 87 monthly record lows were tied or broken during the summer season.

The initial heat dome existed over the eastern United States and eastern Canada from June 28 until July 5. There was a high of 106that was recorded in Atlantic City, N.J., on July 4. From July 11-12, the massive heat dome parked itself over the western U.S. Numerous weather stations and major cities across Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Arizona, California and Colorado recorded daily, monthly, or all-time high temperatures. For example, highs reached 115 degrees in Las Vegas, 116 degrees in Phoenix, 118 degrees in El Centro, Calif., and 104 degrees in Great Falls, Mont., during those two days. Overnight lows did not offer much recovery during that heatwave as lows, only managed to drop into the upper 80s to low 90s in the desert areas and other low-elevation regions.

According to Climate Central, the national summer temperature records were not simply a result of extreme afternoon highs. NOAA and Climate Central reported that summer 2026 was the warmest on record for average nighttime minimum temperatures across the contiguous United States. However, across the Inland Northwest, most nighttime readings were near to below average levels. Warmer nights will often limit the body’s opportunity to recover from daytime heat and can increase health risks, especially during prolonged heat waves.

Here in Coeur d’Alene, there were 20 days this summer with high temperatures at or above 90 degrees. The hottest days were July 22 and nearly a full month later on Aug. 21 with a high temperature of 98 degrees. There was an 11-day stretch from July 15 through 25 that was the warmest of the summer with an average high of 92 degrees.

The average high temperature from June 1 through Aug. 31 in Coeur d’Alene was 82.4 degrees, compared to a normal of 81 degrees. The average low temperature during that period was 50.8 degrees, compared to an average of 51.9 degrees.

In addition to the hot weather, especially in the southwestern portion of the country, the summer season was exceptionally dry. For June, July and August, only 0.25 inches of rain fell at Cliff Harris’s station in Coeur d’Alene. Most of that moisture fell on June 30 and July 1 with a total of 0.10 inches. The drier than normal weather pattern has continued into the end of October as about 0.20 inches of rain has fallen this month, which is well below the normal of 2.22 inches.

Additional rainfall across the Inland Northwest is expected this week, and the long-range computer models are now indicating a bigger increase in moisture as we get close to the normally wetter new moon lunar phase on Nov. 8. At this point, what moisture does fall early next month is likely to be in the form of rain, thanks, at least in part, to the warmer El Nino.

North America was not the only continent to experience the extreme summer heat. The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that western Europe experienced its warmest summer on record, with a seasonal average of 71 degrees Fahrenheit, approximately 4.6 degrees Fahrenheit above its 1991–2020 average. The entire continent of Europe experienced its third warmest summer in history. Drought also contributed to low river flows on major waterways, including the Rhine and Danube, while dry vegetation helped to trigger widespread wildfires.

In terms of the entire world, Copernicus reported that August 2026 was the warmest August in its global temperature record, with an average surface air temperature of 62.5 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1991–2020 average.

Despite the heat in the Northern Hemisphere, July 2026 was Antarctica’s coldest July since 2016. On July 18, one station, the Concordia Station, had its lowest temperature since 2012 with an air temperature reading of -119.4 degrees Fahrenheit. It was also much colder than normal in Argentina, Chile and Bolivia with average temperatures near 10 degrees below normal in some areas in July and August.

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Contact Randy Mann at [email protected].