The raw data below, compiled in mid-2020, shows the United States was hotter in the past.
According to NOAA data (U.S. Commerce Department), 23 of the 50 U.S. state all-time record high temperatures were set during the 1930s, while 36 of 50 occurred before 1960:
ALABAMA
September 6, 1925,
112F (44.4C)
Sin Centreville
(about 50 miles south
of Birmingham).
ALASKA
June 27, 1915
100F (37.8C)
Fort Yukon,
located north
of the Arctic Circle.
ARIZONA
June 29, 1994.
128F (53.3C)
Lake Havasu City,
on the western edge
of Arizona, on
ARKANSAS
Ozark, located along
the Arkansas River,
recorded 120F (48.9C)
on August 10, 1936.
CALIFORNIA
July 10, 1913,
Greenland Ranch,
now Furnace Creek Ranch,
n California’s Death Valley
134F (56.7C) --
the United States’
hottest day on record.
COLORADO
114F (45.6F) twice
— once on July 1, 1933,
in Las Animas,
and again in Sedgwick
on July 11, 1954.
CONNECTICUT
106F (41.1C) twice
— in August, 1916
in Torrington,
and in July, 1995
in Danbury.
DELAWARE
Millsboro hit 110F (43.3C)
on July 21, 1930.
FLORIDA
On June 29, 1931,
Monticello in
Northern Florida
reached 109F (42.8C).
GEORGIA
Georgia’s 112F (44.4C) twice
— once in Greenville in August
of 1983, and once in Louisville
in July 1952.
HAWAII
100F (37.8C)
in Pahala in April, 1931.
IDAHO
118F (47.8C)
on July 28, 1934,
in Orofino.
ILLINOIS
Eastern St. Louis
touched 117F (47.2F)
on July 14, 1954.
INDIANA
116F (46.7C)
on July 14, 1936,
in St. Joseph County.
IOWA
Keokuk — the 118F (47.8C)
on July 20, 1934.
KANSAS
21F (49.4C) twice,
both times in 1936
— on July 18 in Fredonia,
and six days later in Alton.
KENTUCKY
Greensburg hit 114F (45.6C)
on July 28, 1930.
LOUISIANA
August 10, 1936 —
P lain Dealing 114F (45.6C).
MAINE
North Bridgton
hit 105F (40.6C)
twice in the same week
Independence Day in 1911,
and then 6 days later.
MARYLAND
109F on four
separate occasions
— twice in August 1918
in Cumberland,
once in Frederick
in July 1936, and once
on July 3, 1898,
in Boettcherville.
MASSACHUSETTS
Chester touched 107F (41.7C)
on August 2, 1975.
MICHIGAN
Stanwood
was 112F (44.4F)
on July 13, 1936.
MINNESOTA
115F (46.1C) in Beardsley
in western Minnesota
on July 29, 1917.
MISSISSIPPI
July 29, 1930,
Holly Springs
reached 115F (46.1F).
MISSOURI
Warsaw was 118F (47.8C)
on July 14, 1954.
MONTANA
117F (47.2C)
on two occasions
in Montana
— once in Glendive
in July 1983, and once near
Medicine Lake in July 1937.
NEBRASKA
Three places
hit 118F (47.8C) —
Geneva on July 15, 1934,
and both Hartington
and Minden during
the same week
in July 1936.
NEVADA
Laughlin, Nevada
125F (51.7C)
on June 29, 1994.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Independence Day in 1911,
Nashua reached 106F (41.1C).
NEW JERSEY
Old Bridge hit 110F (43.3C)
on July 10, 1936.
NEW MEXICO
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
recorded the hottest day
the 122F (50C)
on June 27, 1994.
NEW YORK
Troy reached 108F (42.2C)
on July 22, 1926.
NORTH CAROLINA
Fayetteville was 110F (43.3C)
on August 21, 1983.
NORTH DAKOTA
Steele reached 121F (49.4C)
on July 6, 1936.
OHIO
Gallipolis,
on the Ohio River,
reached 113F (45C)
on July 21, 1934.
OKLAHOMA
120F (48.9C)
reached four times
Oklahoma, all in
the year 1936
— once in Poteau,
twice in Altus,
and once in Alva.
OREGON
1898 hit 119F (48.3C) twice
— in Prineville, and in
downtown Pendleton.'
PENNSYLVANIA
Two days in a row,
July 9 and 10, 1936,
Phoenixville hit
111F (43.9C).
RHODE ISLAND
Providence hit 104F (40C)
on August 2, 1975.
SOUTH CAROLINA
The capitol
reached 113F (45C)
on June 29, 2012.
SOUTH DAKOTA
120F (48.9C) twice
— once on July 5, 1936
in Gann Valley, and again
on July 15, 2006
in Fort Pierre.
TENNESSEE
Perryville on the Tennesee River
hit 113F (45C) twice in 1930.
TEXAS
120F (48.9C) twice —
once on August 12, 1936,
in Seymour, and once
on June 28, 1994,
in Monahans.
UTAH
St. George hit 115F (46.1C)
on July 5, 1985.
VERMONT
The town of Vernon
reached 107F (41.7C)
on July 7, 1912.
VIRGINIA
100F (37.8C) three times
— twice in the first week
of July 1900 in Columbia,
and once on July 15, 1954,
in Balcony Falls, Glasgow.
WASHINGTON
118F (47.8C) twice —
once on Ice Harbor Dam
near Ash on August 5, 1961,
and once in Wahluke
on July 24, 1928.
WEST VIRGINIA
112F (44.4C) twice
— in Moorefield
on August 4, 1930
and in Martinsburg
on July 10, 1936.
WISCONSIN
Wisconsin Dells
on the Wisconsin River
hit a high of 114F (45.6C)
on July 13, 1936.
WYOMING
115F (46.1C) twice,
once in Basin
on August 8, 1983
and once on the
Diversion Dam
by Wind River
Reservation
on July 15, 1988.