June 2016 Was Warmest on Record for Lower 48, NOAA Says

Sean Breslin
Published: July 7,2016

Parts of the Desert Southwest experienced the warmest June on record this year, and not one region of the Lower 48 was below average.
(NOAA)

June 2016 was the hottest on record for the contiguous United States, scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information announced on Thursday.
At an average temperature of 71.8 degrees Fahrenheit, the June record was broken with none of the Lower 48 turning in below-average temperatures for the month. NOAA said 17 states in the West, Great Plains and Southeast were well above average, rising the national average temperature to the highest ever recorded for the month of June.
June 1933 was previously the warmest NOAA had ever recorded, at 71.56 degrees. June 2015 is now the third-warmest on record, at 71.4 degrees.
(MORE: The Most Extreme U.S. Cities From 2016's First Half)

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The contiguous U.S. finished the first six months of 2016 at 3.2 degrees above the 20th-century average, and with an average temperature of 50.8 degrees, it was the third-warmest first half to any year on record, NOAA also said in its report.
"Every state was warmer than average for the year to date, and Alaska continued to shatter heat records," the report also said.
Heat wasn't the only problem in the Lower 48 last month. With an average of 2.47 inches of precipitation, last month was the 14th-driest June on record for the Lower 48. The lack of precipitation allowed drought conditions to worsen in parts of the Southeast, Northwest, Northeast and Plains.
The Lower 48's drought footprint now sits at 16.2 percent, a rise of about 3.5 percent since the end of May, according to NOAA.
MORE: NASA Documents Climate Change