August Sizzled as Hottest Month on Record

(CN) — A sweltering August marked the 16th consecutive month of record-breaking temperatures around the world.

Land and sea surface temperature averages beat August 2015 records, according to data released Tuesday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In some cases, the temperature averages were more than a full degree above 20th century averages for the month, based on records that date as far back as 1880.

Temperatures this year have surpassed records set in 2015 by 0.29 degrees.

California had its warmest summer on record, adding fuel to what has already been an active wildfire season. Meanwhile, several Northeastern states also had record August temperatures with drought expanding across the region.

Other areas of the United States experienced extreme weather events as well, including Louisiana with over 30 inches of rain in mid-August that caused record flooding and at least 13 deaths. More than 30 tornadoes hit Indiana and Ohio on Aug. 24, but no deaths were reported in those storms.

But not all parts of the United States experienced record heat. Parts of the Southwest, the Rockies and the Great Plains saw a cooler than average August.

While the drought footprint shrank from about 21 percent to 19.5 percent in the continental United States, drought conditions worsened across parts of the Southeast, Northeast and Northern Rockies.

El Nino's influence on Pacific Ocean temperatures subsided in July and neither El Nino nor or its cooler counterpart La Nina are expected to have a significant impact on weather for the rest of the year.

Follow @SeanDuffyCNS

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