(Source: NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, formally the National Climate Data Center)
The average temperature of the contiguous U.S. in July was 76.4°F, which is 2.8°F above average, ranking third warmest in the 128-year record. To gain the most perspective, all available data should be used to ensure we don’t lie with statistics. However, we must consider the context – for example – that our temperature data often start at the end of the last “Little Ice Age” in the early 1800s, coinciding with the development and placement of thermometers. Below we use one data set and its calculator (from NOAA NCDC) to present the full data available (1895 onwrd). We use USA data because it is more trustworthy than the global data set.
Analysis: The US temperature trend is 0.16 deg F per decade totaling about an increase of 1.6 deg.
This page updated or reviewed in April 2026