1936 North American heat wave
Salt Lake City, Utah, started off with below average temperatures but would see record highs of 101 °F (38 °C) on both June 20 and 22.
[10] 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-90 °F (32 °C) highs from June 6 through 10.
[14][15] For some areas, June 17 was the hottest day of the month with Atlanta setting a daily record high of 102 °F (39 °C) and Evansville, Indiana hitting 100 °F (38 °C).
[17] Dozens of other cities had daily record high temperatures, including Shreveport, Louisiana (104 °F (40 °C)), Little Rock, Arkansas (105 °F (41 °C)), and Memphis, Tennessee (103 °F (39 °C)).
The heat began to spread northward, with St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri, seeing daily high records.
On June 29, it was 110 °F (43 °C) in both Saint John, Kentucky, and Etowah, Tennessee, and 111 °F (44 °C) in Seymore, Indiana; these temperatures set new monthly record highs for each state.
[17] This day was particularly brutal, with many areas across the South and Midwest reporting record highs for the month.
However, areas in the Central Great Plains saw temperature's in the 100s with Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska, and other locations seeing daily record highs.
On July 4, multiple areas centered around the Central Midwest saw temperatures spike into the 100s.
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 104 °F (40 °C) respectively.
On July 9, 1936, temperatures spiked, with many all-time record highs being set in both the Great Lakes and Northeast United States.
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 heat temporarily stopped spreading but was still heavily impacting areas with Bismarck, North Dakota, recording a low of only 83°.
Temperatures in the Great Plains continued to rise as a new heat wave began to develop.
This heat would persist into the next day before temperatures would fall noticeably on the 16th over the Central Great Plains.
However, temperatures would rise back into the 100s over the Great Plains after this, though generally would not be as high as earlier in the month.
Both Kansas and Nebraska tied their all-time record highs in Alton and Minden, respectively just days after they were set.
On July 25, the temperature rose to a record high 115 °F (46 °C) in Lincoln, Nebraska, but would only fall to 91 °F (33 °C) that night.
The heat wave and drought largely ended in September, although many states were still drier and warmer than average.
Air conditioning was in the early stages of development and was therefore absent from houses and commercial buildings.
Farmers across the continent saw crop failure, causing corn and wheat prices to rise quickly.
The 1930s (the Dust Bowl years) are remembered as the driest and warmest decade for the United States, and the summer of 1936 featured the most widespread and destructive heat wave to occur in the Americas in centuries.
