Worst Days For Record-Shattering Heat in 2025

Preliminary data for the past year shows that the average global temperature in 2025 was slightly lower than it was in 2024, when the Earth’s temperature hit an all-time annual high. But while 2025 was not the hottest year on record, a recent report published by the Yale School of the Environment suggests that it will likely rank as the second hottest. 

In the last year, global temperatures soared well above historical norms, exceeding the pre-industrial average by more than 2.7°F, a threshold established in the 2015 Paris Agreement. As indicated by data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the first 11 months of last year, warming trends were also on full display in the United States.

From the beginning of the meteorological summer in June through the end of the meteorological fall in November, the average temperature in the Northwest was 57.7°F – topping the 20th century average by nearly 4°F and making that six month stretch in 2025 the warmest of any year in the region’s history. Across the entire continental United States, the average temperature from January through November was 56.2°F, 2.4°F higher than the average temperature over the same 11 month period between 1901 and 2000. 

At the local level, daily record highs, some of which have stood for half a century or more, were shattered in 2025. A recent report from the independent non-profit research organization Climate Central analyzed 2025 temperature data, from January through November, in 247 U.S. cities. Across these communities, daily high temperatures broke historical records 1,313 times last year, cumulatively. On certain days in 2025, hot or unseasonably warm weather impacted large swathes of the country, breaking historical records in dozens of cities. 

Using data from Climate Central, Climate Crisis 247 identified the days where the most U.S. cities reported record-breaking heat in 2025. Reviewing the number of cities that reported new daily record highs on each of the 333 dates between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, 2025, we listed the 10 days last year when high temperatures broke the most records. Only temperature records in the 247 cities included in the Climate Crisis report were considered. Supplemental data on previous daily highs are from NOAA. 

Among the 10 dates in 2025 that rank on this list, the number of U.S. cities that reported record breaking heat ranges from 21 to 46. Of these dates, four were in the month of February. The remaining six dates were spread out equally between the months of March, June, and November. 

During each of the 10 days on this list – even those in February – record-breaking temperatures in parts of the U.S. were not only unseasonably high, but also exceptionally hot, by any normal standard. For example, there were 23 U.S. cities across 11 states that reported record-breaking heat on Nov. 15, 2025. One of them was Wichita Fall, Texas, where the temperature climbed to 92°F, topping the previous daily record of 85°F that had stood since 1965. Historically, the average temperature in Wichita Falls on November 15 is only about 53°F. 

Similarly, on Feb. 3, 2025, 46 U.S. cities, including 14 in Texas alone, reported all-time highs. In Lubbock, Texas, the mercury rose to 91°F that day, topping the previous record by 10°F and the historical daily average by 43°F.

10. March 25, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 21 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 8
• Regions reporting new local record highs: West, Southwest, South, Northwest, Northern Rockies & Plains
• Highest record-breaking temperature on March 25, 2025: 101°F in Palm Springs, California
• Previous daily high in Palm Springs, CA: 100°F in 1988
• Historic temperature norms in Palm Springs, CA for March 25: 69.1°F daily avg.; 83.1°F daily high

9. November 15, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 23 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 11
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Ohio Valley, Southwest, Upper Midwest, Northwest
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Nov. 15, 2025: 92°F in Wichita Falls, Texas
• Previous daily high in Wichita Falls, TX: 85°F in 1965
• Historic temperature norms in Wichita Falls, TX for Nov. 15: 52.8°F daily avg.; 65.3°F daily high

8. February 8, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 24 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 9
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Southeast, Southwest, Ohio Valley
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Feb. 8, 2025: 92°F in San Angelo, Texas
• Previous daily high in San Angelo, TX: 87°F in 1999
• Historic temperature norms in San Angelo, TX for Feb. 8: 50.1°F daily avg.; 64.1°F daily high

7. June 23, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 24 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 11
• Regions reporting new local record highs: Northeast, Southeast, Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley
• Highest record-breaking temperature on June 23, 2025: 101°F in Newark, New Jersey
• Previous daily high in Newark, NJ: 99°F in 2024
• Historic temperature norms in Newark, NJ for June 23: 75.2°F daily avg.; 84.3°F daily high

6. November 14, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 27 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 12
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Northern Rockies & Plains, Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Northwest
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Nov. 14, 2025: 90°F in San Angelo, Texas
• Previous daily high in San Angelo, TX: 88°F in 1989
• Historic temperature norms in San Angelo, TX for Nov. 14: 56.2°F daily avg.; 69.5°F daily high

5. February 4, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 29 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 14
• Regions reporting new local record highs: Southwest, South, Southeast, West, Ohio Valley, Northern Rockies & Plains
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Feb. 4, 2025: 86°F in Victoria, Texas
• Previous daily high in Victoria, TX: 82°F in 1954
• Historic temperature norms in Victoria, TX for Feb. 4: 56.8°F daily avg.; 66.7°F daily high

4. June 24, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 29 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 13
• Regions reporting new local record highs: Northeast, Southeast, Ohio Valley
• Highest record-breaking temperature on June 24, 2025: 103°F in Newark, New Jersey
• Previous daily high in Newark, NJ: 99°F in 1923
• Historic temperature norms in Newark, NJ for June 24: 75.4°F daily avg.; 84.5°F daily high

3. March 14, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 31 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 15
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Ohio Valley, Upper Midwest, Northeast, Northern Rockies & Plains
• Highest record-breaking temperature on March 14, 2025: 98°F in Corpus Christi, Texas
• Previous daily high in Corpus Christi, TX: 95°F in 1971
• Historic temperature norms in Corpus Christi, TX for March 14: 67.0°F daily avg.; 76.2°F daily high

2. February 6, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 34 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 11
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Southeast, Southwest, Ohio Valley
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Feb. 6, 2025: 87°F in Abilene, Texas
• Previous daily high in Abilene, TX: 80°F in 2023
• Historic temperature norms in Abilene, TX for Feb. 6: 48.4°F daily avg.; 61.3°F daily high

1. February 3, 2025

• U.S. cities reporting record high temperatures: 46 of 247 U.S. cities
• Number of states reporting new local record highs: 16
• Regions reporting new local record highs: South, Southwest, West, Ohio Valley
• Highest record-breaking temperature on Feb. 3, 2025: 91°F in Lubbock, Texas
• Previous daily high in Lubbock, TX: 81°F in 2021
• Historic temperature norms in Lubbock, TX for Feb. 3: 43.0°F daily avg.; 57.5°F daily high