With the news that Death Valley likely had the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth this August, it’s hardly surprising to hear that 2020 was a record scorcher for the entire country. This year has the hottest summer on record for several cities across the country, including Phoenix, Sacramento, Las Vegas, and Sarasota.

Phoenix’s average temperatures from June to August reached 96.7 degrees this year, about 1.6 degrees higher than the city’s previous record. Typically cooler cities like Bridgeport and Hartford in Connecticut also tied their previous summer highs.

This weekend, the Bay Area faces a heatwave threatening temperatures topping 105 degrees. As firefighters continue battling the wildfires in the area, the upcoming heat is expected to exacerbate the problem and worsen the smoke issue.

Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the Institute of the Environment and Sustainability at UCLA, said on Twitter, “Another week, another major California heatwave. This will undoubtedly complicate ongoing wildfire situation, & may have elevated health impacts given ongoing “smokestorm” conditions that make it difficult to spend time outdoors/open windows.”

ABC News reported that the following 19 US cities broke their average heat record this summer:

  • Phoenix, AZ: 96.7°
  • Naples, FL: 84.6°
  • Caribou, ME: 66.9°
  • Harrisburg, PA: 77.9°
  • Tucson, AZ: 90.0°
  • Burlington, VT: 72.3°
  • Portland, ME: 70.5°
  • LaGuardia, NY: 79.5°
  • Providence, RI: 74.4°
  • Charlottesville, VA: 78.8°
  • Norfolk, VA: 81.3°
  • Cape Hatteras, NC: 81.7°
  • Manchester, NH: 74.4°
  • Bradford, PA: 67°
  • Dubois, PA: 70.3°
  • State College, PA: 73.5°
  • Tampa, FL: 84.8°
  • Sarasota, FL: 84.6°
  • Brainerd, MN: 71.1°

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