The June temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 71.8°F, or 3.3°F above the 20th century average, surpassing the previous record of 71.6°F set in 1933. The year-to-date (January-June) temperaturewas 50.8°F, 3.2°F above the 20th century average, making it the third warmest on record.
The June precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. was 2.46 inches, 0.47 inch below the 20th century average, the 14th driest on record. Record flooding devastated parts of southern West Virginia while wildfires raged across the drought-stricken West. The year-to-date precipitation total was 15.58 inches, 0.27 inch above average, and ranked near the middle value in the 122-year period of record.
During the first half of 2016, the U.S. experienced eight weather and climate disasters* that have each met or exceeded $1 billion in damages, resulting in the loss of 30 lives and costing more than $13.1 billion in damages.