14 DAY TRIAL // This past June was the absolute hottest on record for the western US and the country's second warmest, researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) write in a new report made public this Wednesday.
Thus, NOAA scientists say the average temperature documented across the entire US all throughout this year's June was one of 71.4 degrees Fahrenheit (21.8 degrees Celsius), the second highest documented since record keeping began 120 years ago.
Furthermore, as many as 5 states in the country's west, i.e. California, Idaho, Utah, Oregon and Washington, experienced record-breaking temperatures. Above-average temperatures were recorded in 16 states along the US western and southeastern coast.
It was during the second half of the month that an intense heatwave engulfed the US west and pushed temperatures to new all-time records. In the city of Boise in Idaho, for instance, the local temperature soared to an impressive 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius).
Drought was reported across a quarter of the country
Overall, this year's June was the ninth wettest on record for the contiguous US. Specifically, NOAA researchers say the precipitation total was 0.6 inches (1.51 centimeters) above the 3.53 inches (8.96 centimeters) average.
In Illinois, Indiana and Ohio precipitation totals exceeded the 20th century average twice over, setting a new record wet. Above-average precipitations were documented chiefly in the southwest, the midwest and the northeast.
Even so, 25.9% of the contiguous US was struggling with drought by the end of the month. When June began, drought was reported across 24.6% of the country. Drought conditions spread due to below-average precipitation in the northwest.
“Drought conditions improved across the southwest, upper midwest, and the northeast, but worsened in the northwest and southeast,” NOAA researchers explain in their report.
“Drought conditions remain dire across California, with 46.7 percent of the state experiencing the worst category of drought (D4, exceptional),” they go on detail.
The drought plaguing California is so bad that, earlier this year, on April 1, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. was left with no choice but to announce and implement the state's first ever mandatory water restrictions.
