First 8 Months Hottest in U.S. Since Instrument Records Began in 1895

According to Climate Central, the summer of 2012 has been one of the hottest on record in the lower 48 states. Following the country’s warmest-ever spring, 2012 to-date has been the hottest year for the U.S. since instrument records began in 1895  and the summer was the third warmest summer on record.

Nearly every part of the country at some point this year has experienced record temperatures and so far there have been more than 28,000 daily high-temperature records broken or tied. The top ten heat related record breaking states for the first eight months of 2012 are:

1. Wisconsin
2. Iowa
3. Missouri
4. Indiana
5. Minnesota
6. North Dakota
Illinois (tie)
8. Ohio
9. Colorado
10. Arkansas

Check out Climate Central’s interactive map detailing state by state the number of heat related records that have fallen in the past eight months.