The Heat Was on in July

Some impressive heat records have fallen from the month of July.  Phoenix had it's hottest month ever.

It's official, this July was the hottest month in Phoenix on record, with an average temperature of 102.7°F. This beats the previous record of 99.1°F set back in August 2020 by 3.6°F. It was certainly a month for the record books.🌡 #azwx pic.twitter.com/AvtODKN00s

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) August 1, 2023

The Washington Post is reporting that is the hottest monthly average temperature ever recorded in a U.S. city, breaking the previous record of 102.2°F set in Lake Havasu City in 1996.  

My daughter lives in Phoenix and was on a flight to Seattle yesterday.  When they landed they asked everyone to lower their shades because it was "hot out." She said the entire flight erupted in laughter.  

A bit further to the north or west, Las Vegas, Kingman, and Needles all set July temperature records.  

2023: Hottest July on Record for 3 Climate Sites...

🥵 Las Vegas, NV
Average Temp: 97.3 (prev. 96.2 in 2010)
🥵 Kingman, AZ
Average Temp: 88.5 (prev. 86.9 in 2003)
🥵 Needles, CA
Average Temp: 101.8 (prev. 100.9 in 2006)#VegasWxRecords #KingmanWxRecords #NeedlesWxRecords

— NWS Las Vegas (@NWSVegas) August 1, 2023

Had enough?  How about Miami?  Warmest month on record there.

July 2023 was officially the warmest month on record at #Miami, with a mean average temp of 86.5°F.

We thought we'd see how this compared to the records at other cities across the US... are you ok, @NWSPhoenix?@NWSChicago @NWSFortWorth @NWSLosAngeles @NWSSeattle @NWSNewYorkNY pic.twitter.com/7JJ4TRRQuH

— NWS Miami (@NWSMiami) August 1, 2023

More to come I'm sure, including from elsewhere around the world.  

Meanwhile in Salt Lake City, the airport came in with an average temperature of 85.3°F.  That's a full two degrees cooler than last year's inferno, but still rates as the 3rd warmest all time.  

Source: NOAA Regional Climate Centers

Since I always get questions about the representativeness of the airport observation, I'll add that July was the 4th warmest on record at the Bountiful Bench site with an average temperature of 80.9°F, which was only 0.8°F cooler than last year.  Records there go back to 1975, but the 14th warmest Julys on record all have occurred since 2000.  

July is a bad month that is getting badder.