ORLANDO, Fla. – It was a hot July for most of the country and a lot of the world. So hot in fact that both Key West, the southernmost point in the continental U.S. and Utqiagvik, Alaska, the northernmost town in the U.S., both observed their hottest month, for any month, on record.
Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, saw an average of temperature 48.4 degrees. This number is found by taking the highs and lows of each day of the month and averaging them out. This narrowly beat out 2019′s average temperature of 48.3 degrees.
Key West’s average temperature for July was 87.7 degrees. 2023 broke the previous record temperature for July by nearly a degree.
The previous record hot month for Key West was August of 2007 with an average temperature of 87.5 degrees.
The lack of Saharan dust this season has allowed for more solar heating. The weak trade winds are also a reason for the extreme heat in the Keys. Both of these factors have also likely played a factor in the record hot sea surface temperatures around South Florida.
Orlando saw the third hottest July on record with an average temperature of 84.9 degrees.
Many cities across the Gulf Coast, including Florida, and the Desert Southwest set new temperature records for July.
A huge ridge of high pressure in the upper levels of the atmosphere dominated these areas for the better part of July. These weather systems promote sinking air which dries out and warms up the atmosphere.
It is important to note there were a few cities in the Upper Midwest and Plains that made their way into the top 10 and even top five coolest July on record.
To see the full map of July temperature rankings across the country click here.
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