Well, here we are in the heart of summer and we all know that July is usually the hottest month of the year. And while the dog days of August come in a close second, most of the recorded highest temperatures across the United States have occurred in the month of July. So far, it has been a rather "tame" summer here in the Northeast, but parts of the Midwest have been baking over the past few weeks with several locations recording daily record highs. But what about the highest temperatures ever recorded? Here is a look at average daily highs for July along with the highest temperature ever recorded for the big cities of the Northeast and Midwest.
| Average Daily High in July | Highest Temp Ever Recorded | |
| Boston | 82.1° | 104° - 7/4/1911 |
| Hartford | 85.2° | 103° - 7/22/2011 |
| New York City | 84.9° | 106° - 7/9/1936 |
| Philadelphia | 87.8° | 106° - 8/7/1918 |
| Baltimore | 88.8° | 107° - 7/10/1936 |
| Washington, DC | 89.6° | 106° - 7/20/1930 |
| Columbus, OH | 85.4° | 106° - 7/14/1936 |
| Indianapolis | 85.2° | 106° - 7/14/1936 |
| Chicago | 84.5° | 105° - 7/24/1934 |
So, despite July being the warmest month of the calendar year, Philadelphia is the only city on this list where the highest temperature ever recorded occurred in August. And just to put these records into perspective, the highest temperature ever recorded in the United States occurred on July 10th, 1913 at Death Valley, California when the thermometer reached 134°!! In fact, this is also the record highest temperature ever recorded on planet Earth and still stands to this day.
