HEAT

From June-August 2012, nearly 10,000 daily high were broken compared to just over 1,400 daily low temperature records throughout the same 3-month period.

July 2012 was the hottest month in U.S. history.

June-August 2012 was the 3rd hottest on record for the continental U.S., 2.3 degrees F above the 20th century average.

Wyoming and Colorado each had their hottest summer on record; Nevada was record hot for August.

Approximately 6% of the 300 largest U.S. cities set their all-time heat records in 2012. The only year with more all-time heat records than 2012 is 1936, when 20% of U.S. cities set their all-time heat records.

Remarkably, 50% of the contiguous U.S. had maximum temperatures that were in the highest 10% historically during summer 2012.

More than 80 million people—about 10 million more than in 2011—experienced 100°F or higher temperatures. 

Oklahoma City had 18 straight days where temperatures reached 100° or greater, including three days in a row that were 112°, exacerbating wildfires and drought in the state.

The only heat wave in Oklahoma history that compares to the August 2012 heat wave occurred during the great Dust Bowl summer of 1936, the hottest summer in U.S. history. 

Oklahoma City experienced a record streak of 22 straight days with a temperature of 100° or hotter that year.

The unusually hot summer helped January-August be the warmest such period in U.S. history. 2012 set a record for the warmest year in U.S. history (since record-keeping began in 1895).