1936 North American heat wave

The 1936 North American heat wave was one of the most severe heat waves in the modern history of North America. It took place in the middle of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl of the 1930s and caused more than 5,000 deaths. Many state and city record high temperatures set during the 1936 heat wave stood until the 2012 North American heat wave. Many more endure to this day; as of 2022, 13 state record high temperatures were set in 1936. The 1936 heat wave followed one of the coldest winters on record.

June 1936

High temperatures began briefly in the Northeast from June 1 to 3. On June 3, Allentown, Pennsylvania, had a high of while New York City had a high of. Baltimore, Maryland, had a high of, just below the daily record high set in 1925. As the month went on, heat began to build in the Rocky Mountains and over the Southeast.

Western United States

, started off with below average temperatures but would see record highs of on both June 20 and 22. Grand Junction, Colorado, saw five days above with record highs set from June 18 through 20. Areas east of the Rockies in Colorado varied greatly, with Pueblo seeing one day above while Lamar saw eleven consecutive days with highs above. Cheyenne, Wyoming, saw highs averaging with a record high for June 18. In Ashton, Idaho, a record high for the month of June was set on June 27 at.

Southeast and Midwest

In the South, the heat started in the Gulf Coast states with Atlanta, Georgia seeing low to mid-90s in the early part of the month followed by Birmingham, Alabama seeing a string of mid- highs from June 6 through 10. Following this, intense heat began to build in the region by mid-month. From June 16 through 19, highs were in the upper 90s to near in Birmingham. In a similar time frame, Huntsville, Alabama saw a string of five days above with only one day not setting a new daily record high. In Mississippi, Jackson and Meridian both saw highs in the upper 90s while Greenville and Tupelo saw highs in the 100s. For some areas, June 17 was the hottest day of the month with Atlanta setting a daily record high of and Evansville, Indiana hitting.
On June 19, as the heat began to spread northward, multiple areas in the Midwest saw record daily highs, including St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, and Topeka, Kansas.
On June 20, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Missouri all set all-time, monthly record highs: Corning, Arkansas, hit, Dodson, Louisiana, hit, Greenwood, Mississippi, hit, and Doniphan, Missouri, hit. Dozens of other cities had daily record high temperatures, including Shreveport, Louisiana, Little Rock, Arkansas, and Memphis, Tennessee. The heat began to spread northward, with St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, seeing daily high records.
On June 26, Nebraska set a new monthly record high as it hit in Franklin.
On June 29, it was in both Saint John, Kentucky, and Etowah, Tennessee, and in Seymour, Indiana; these temperatures set new monthly record highs for each state. This day was particularly brutal, with many areas across the South and Midwest reporting record highs for the month. Springfield, Illinois, hit falling just short of the record set in 1934. Galesburg, Illinois, hit and Lexington, Kentucky, hit which remains their hottest temperature ever recorded in June.

July 1936

July started off relatively mild in many areas, with many areas in the Midwest seeing highs in the upper-80s to low-90s. However, areas in the Central Great Plains saw temperatures in the 100s with Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; and other locations seeing daily record highs. On Independence Day, July 4, this all quickly changed.

Heat dome forms over Midwest

On July 4, multiple areas centered around the Central Midwest saw temperatures spike into the 100s. Peoria, Illinois, reached, Sioux City, Iowa, hit , Des Moines, Iowa, hit , Springfield, Illinois, hit, and Kansas City, Missouri, hit. All these areas saw their hottest Independence Day on record. That night, temperatures would only fall into the 70's.
On July 5, the heat persisted in these areas while spreading to others. Areas in Eastern Iowa had highs in the low to mid 100s, with Burlington, Iowa, hitting for the second day in a row. In Bismarck, North Dakota, the temperature hit and in Aberdeen, South Dakota, it hit.
On July 6, Steele, North Dakota, hit, the highest temperature ever recorded in North Dakota. This occurred 5 months after the record low of was set in the state. Fargo and Bismarck both hit. In Moorhead, Minnesota, the record high of was set. The heat continued to spread, with Rockford, Illinois, hitting, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Grand Forks, North Dakota, hitting respectively.
On July 7, the heat spread to the Great Lakes area. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, hit, Madison, Wisconsin, hit, Green Bay, Wisconsin, hit, Duluth, Minnesota, hit, and Kalamazoo, Michigan, hit. The heat spread south, with Evansville, Indiana, hitting, and Lexington, Kentucky, hitting.
On July 8, heat began to creep back into the Northeastern United States, with some areas having highs in the 80s and 90s. Elsewhere the heat dome expanded more with Indianapolis, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, hitting respectively. South Bend hit , and Louisville, Kentucky, hit. Flint, Michigan, hit, breaking the record.
On July 9, 1936, temperatures spiked, with many all-time record highs being set in both the Great Lakes and Northeast United States. The recap of temperatures are as follows.

Rockford, IL:
Pittsburgh, PA:
Syracuse, NY:
Rochester, NY:
Detroit, MI:
Philadelphia, PA:
Albany, NY:
Baltimore, MD:
Scranton, PA:
Allentown, PA: 104 °F
Washington DC:
Johnstown, PA:
Columbus, OH:
Warren, OH:
Williamsport, PA:
Trenton, NJ:
Central Park, New York City:

On July 10, the heat peaked in Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, with some areas setting all-time record highs in parts of the South and most of the Midwest. The recap is as follows.

Atlanta, GA:
Pittsburgh PA:
Detroit, MI:
Grand Rapids, MI:
Central Park, New York City:
Rochester, NY: 102 °F
Allentown, PA: 103 °F
Youngstown, OH:
Philadelphia, PA:
Richmond, VA:
Washington DC:
Lynchburg, VA:
Rockford, IL:
Bowling Green, KY:
St. Cloud, MN:
Baltimore, MD:
Lexington, KY:
Xenia, OH:
Cumberland & Frederick, MD:
Runyon, NJ:
Phoenixville, PA:
Martinsburg, WV:
Aberdeen, SD:

On July 11, the heat subsided in the Northeast, though highs were still in the 90s. The heat temporarily stopped spreading but was still heavily impacting areas with Bismarck, North Dakota, recording a low of only 83°.
On July 13, 1936, the heat spread south through the Great Plains, with Wichita, Kansas, reporting a high of, Fort Smith, Arkansas, hitting, Tulsa, Oklahoma, hitting, and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, hitting. Elsewhere, temperatures began to significantly rise with multiple areas hitting above. The recap is as follows:

Columbus, OH:
Detroit, MI:
Green Bay, WI:
Minneapolis, MN:
Alpena, MI:
Madison, WI:
Duluth, MN:
St. Cloud, MN:
Decatur, IL:
Grand Rapids, MI:
Evansville, IN:
Kalamazoo, MI:
Rockford, IL:
Saginaw, MI:
Eau Claire, WI:
Waterloo, IA:
Mt. Vernon, IL:
Mio, MI:
Henderson, KY:
Wisconsin Dells, WI:

July 14, 1936 was the peak day of the heat wave for most areas with countless record-breaking temperatures broken across many areas. The records are as follows.

Pittsburgh, PA:
Detroit, MI:
Springfield, MO:
Indianapolis, IN:
Columbus, OH:
Cincinnati, OH:
Madison, WI:
Louisville, KY:
Kalamazoo, MI:
Minneapolis, MN:
Rochester, MN:
Xenia, OH:
St. Louis, MO:
Lima, OH:
Cedar Rapids, IA:
Dubuque, IA:
Terre Haute, IN:
Springfield, IL:
Decatur, IL:
Moline, IL:
Burlington, IA:
Rockford, IL:
Waterloo, IA:
Palestine, IL:
Mt. Vernon, IL:
Collegeville, IN:

On July 15, temperatures finally began to decline over most areas while other isolated areas still saw heat still increase. Missouri hit an all-time high of in Clinton, Missouri. Peoria, Illinois, hit and Quincy hit, setting all-time records for those cities. Many Iowa cities tied the records set the previous day. Temperatures in the Great Plains continued to rise as a new heat wave began to develop.

Heat persists over the Great Plains

Although heat in the Midwest had begun to subside, heat had been building in the Great Plains over that period. It began on July 13 when there was a noticeable increase in temperatures but began to peak on July 14.
On July 14, the temperature climbed to in Lincoln, Nebraska, after having 5 days of temperature's in the low 100s, though that night it would be the first time the temperature fell below in a week. Norfolk, Nebraska, hit and Omaha, Nebraska, hit. Further south, Topeka, Kansas, hit, and Kansas City, Missouri, hit. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, temperatures had been climbing the past couple days and hit this day. This heat would persist into the next day before temperatures would fall noticeably on the 16th over the Central Great Plains.
On July 17, temperatures once again began to rise. Nebraska set a record high of in Hartington, Nebraska. Sioux City, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, set record highs of. In Grand Island, Nebraska, it was, falling 2 degrees short of the record in 1934, while Hastings, Nebraska, would set a record of. It was in Fort Smith, Arkansas.
On July 18, the heat would peak. Kansas and Oklahoma set record highs of in Fredonia and in Alva, respectively. Wichita, Kansas, hit, Salina, Kansas, hit, in Topeka, Kansas, and in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On July 19, Oklahoma's record would be tied in Altus.