July Was California's Hottest Month On Record

CALIFORNIA ? July was California?s hottest month on record as well as its first with an average temperature above 80 degrees, according to federal data.

The state?s temperature averaged 81.7 degrees for July, a full 6.5 degrees above its mean July temperature of 75.2 degrees, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information?s Climate at a Glance Statewide Time Series, which includes data dating back to 1895.

The second-hottest month on record was July 2021, with an average temperature of 79.8 degrees, followed by July 2018, July 1931 and July 2006 with temperatures averaging 79.6 degrees, 79.5 degrees and 79.3 degrees, respectively.

Needles, which is located on the Arizona border near the Mojave National Preserve in San Bernardino County, was the hottest city in the country for July, with a preliminary average monthly temperature of 103.2 degrees, according to the Arizona State Climate Office.

Palm Springs and Blythe hit average monthly temperatures above 100 degrees for the first time in July, with 100 and 100.7 degrees, respectively, according to the climate office.

The extreme heat took its toll on Californians throughout the month.

In Death Valley National Park, a motorcyclist died of exposure July 6 near Badwater Basin. The area had a daily record high of 128 degrees the day of the fatality. Two weeks later, a man suffered third-degree burns while walking in the park on a day when the air temperature was 123 degrees.

Additionally, in San Jose a homeless man died early in the month from apparent heat-related causes.