We can't speak for the rest of the country, but here in NYC, the month of July was hotter than Rihanna's Instagram feed. We had week-long stretches of crushing humidity, 85-degree mornings that bled into 100-degree afternoons, and, oddly, hail storms. It was all enough to make us wonder if it was a record-breaking month. Turns out it was.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, July 2012 was the hottest month of record for the continental 48. "The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, marking the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the nation," said NOAA in their latest State of the Climate report.
Not only was July the hottest month, it was also was one of the driest on record with an average precipitation total being under 0.19-inches below normal.
[via Gawker]
