Summertime is always hot in the South, but it felt a little hotter this year, and that was no trick of the mind.
Following a record-hot July, it was also the hottest August on record for the contiguous United States.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released its August 2026 temperature and precipitation assessment, with Mississippi nearly engulfed by “much above average” temperatures. A small portion of northwest Mississippi, near Washington and Bolivar counties, and the state’s northeastern corner saw “above average” temperatures.
Mississippians definitely felt the higher temperatures, with a good portion of August days having heat index readings in the triple digits.
According to NOAA, the average temperature for August across the country was 75.6 degrees Fahrenheit, an astounding 3.5 degrees higher than the 20th-century average and 0.4 degrees above the previous records in 1936 and 2021.
Another heat record was charted by an increase in the maximum daytime temperatures. Across the contiguous U.S., the average temperature was 88.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
On the precipitation side of things, portions of the Midwest and Ohio Valley regions saw much higher August precipitation totals, while the southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley received much below-average precipitation.
In Mississippi, rain totals were spotty, with portions of central and the northeast corner of Mississippi near average, and even one spot of above-average precipitation. However, rainfall along the perimeter of the state was below average, with some areas receiving much-below-average rainfall.
As the year moves to fall, the summer of 2026 has solidified itself as the warmest summer on record in the 132 years since it was tracked beginning in 1895.
