Not only was July the hottest month ever according to U.S. temperature records, but the last 12 months (August 2011-July 2012) were the warmest such unbroken period for the continental U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Wednesday. The nationally averaged temperature was 56.1°F, or 3.3 degrees above average. Only the state of Washington didn’t see unusually high temperatures during the past year. NOAA published the following chart to illustrate the heat wave:
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=158897