A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that U.S. heat this summerwas a record-breaker.
On Sept. 9, the agency announced that summer 2026 was the hottest on record since climate records began in 1895.
"The average temperature for meteorological summer (June-August) 2026 was the warmest for the contiguous United States in the 132-year record, exceeding the previous records, set in 1936 and 2021, by 0.4 degrees," NOAA said in a statement.
A USA TODAY analysis of the data released found that many states broke their own records, too.
Meteorological summer includes the three hottest months of the year: June, July, and August, while astronomical summer lasts a few more weeks until the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22.
Here's
how hot Tennessee got during summer 2026.
How hot was summer 2026?
While the season is not officially over in the astronomical sense, meteorological fall has already begun, allowing NOAA to measure how hot meteorological summer, which runs from June to August, was.
The average temperature in the United States for June-August was 74.4 degrees, 3 degrees above average.
Overall, NOAA said that summer saw widespread above-average temperatures nearly the entire country. In addition, much-above-average nighttime minimum temperatures spanned most of the continental United States.
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July 4 heat dome brought summer's most intense heat
The heat dome that affected much of the eastern United States over the July 4 holiday was likely the summer's most notable heat wave, as it hit the densely populated East Coast and Midwest. This heat dome pushed temperatures above 100 degrees in many places and heat index values above 110 degrees in some regions.
Several heat waves in July helped raise the average temperature across the continental United States to 76.9 degrees, 3.3 degrees above the 20th-century average. According to NOAA, this marked the warmest July, and the hottest month overall, in the 132 years of recorded history, surpassing July 1936 and July 2012 by 0.1 to 0.2 degree.
How hot did it get in Tennessee?
According to USA TODAY, based on a NOAA report, Tennessee had the 14th-hottest summer, with an average temperature of 77 degrees for June, July and August.
In August alone, only three Tennessee counties recorded temperatures "much above" their respective average temperatures. These counties were:
- Shelby County: 83.1 degrees, 3.4 degrees above average.
- Bledsoe County: 76.6 degrees, 2.7 degrees above average.
- Johnson County: 70.8 degrees, 2.4 degrees above average.
The three-month period of June, July and August had only seven counties that recorded temperatures "much above" their averages. These counties were Anderson, Bledsoe, Campbell, Johnson, Morgan, Scott and Shelby counties.
Shelby County recorded both the highest temperature and the highest temperature departure in Tennessee. Over the three-month period, Shelby County averaged 81.9 degrees, 2.3 degrees above the normal average.
All other counties had a departure between 1.7 and 1.9 degrees above the normal average. Temperatures in these counties also fell within a narrow range, between 70 and 77 degrees.
The state's hottest period was July and August, the two main months of astronomical summer. During this period, 44 counties were listed as having temperatures "much above" their normal averages, or about 46% of the state.
Cocke County recorded its fourth-warmest summer on record at 77.2 degrees, 2.3 degrees above the normal average. Hancock County recorded its fifth-warmest summer, and Bledsoe, Johnson, Sequatchie and Shelby counties all recorded their sixth-warmest summers.
Shelby County, once again, had the warmest temperature for the period at 83.2 degrees. It also had the largest departure from its normal July-August temperature of 2.8 degrees.
When will it cool down in Tennessee?
Technically, Tennessee has already begun its descent into cooler weather, as the state hits its peak maximum temperatures in July.
The maximum temperature in Tennessee will drop to 70 sometime in October, depending on where you are in the state.
Knoxville is typically the first city to have its maximum temperature cool to 70, which happens in mid-October. Memphis and Nashville won't see their daily maximum temperature drop to 70 until the end of October, up to two weeks later than Knoxville.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal and Tennessee. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Summer 2026 was the hottest on record in the US. How hot Tennessee got
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