Missouri records hottest August in 1936 as Stacker ranks state heat since 1895

Missouri recorded its hottest August in 1936, with an average temperature of 83.9°F, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information. The month also saw a high of 98.3°F, a low of 69.5°F, and total precipitation of 0.91 inches. These figures come from a ranking compiled by Stacker, which listed the ten hottest Augusts in Missouri since 1895.

The 1936 August was the hottest, followed by 1947 at 82.5°F and 1913 at 82.1°F. The ranking included monthly highs, lows, and precipitation for each year. The data also noted that July 2022 was the third hottest July in the continental United States since 1895, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Outlets across the political spectrum published digests of Stacker’s rankings for Missouri, Texas, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Indiana. The digests uniformly noted the rankings but varied in whether they included broader context about climate trends.

What the coverage left out

None of the left-rated digests mentioned the broader context of climate change or the long-term rise in global temperatures. The centre-rated digests were split: two omitted this context, while one included it. The right-rated digest did not address climate trends.