President Ulysses S. Grant approved a congressional resolution to create the National Weather Service in 1870 to track weather patterns and temperatures. Fifteen states hit their record high temperatures during the summer of 1936, the height of the Dust Bowl. About 5,000 Americans died that summer due to the extreme heat. These state high temperatures are random, and very different from the pattern of increased average temperatures recorded in recent years, including the recent finding that the highest global average temperature was recorded on July 22, 2024.
Here is a look at when and where in each state the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recorded the hottest temperature.
Note: Some states have hit their record high more than once, and/or in more than one city.
Source: National Centers for Environmental Information