NOAA Climate Watch Magazine Summer 2012 Recap – “Summer 2012 was the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States since record keeping began in 1895. According to the latest statistics from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, the average temperature for the contiguous United States between June and August was over 74° Fahrenheit, which is more than 2° F above the twentieth-century average. Only the summers of 2011 and 1936 have had higher summer temperatures for the Lower 48.”