Dangerous Fire Conditions in the Southern High Plains; Severe Weather in the Central Plains and Upper Midwest; Late-Season Mountain Snow

Dry and windy conditions will produce dangerous fire weather conditions across the southern High Plains into the Southwest. Severe storms, including very large hail, strong tornadoes, and winds, are expected in the central Plains into the Upper Midwest. Heavy late-season snow and record cold temperatures are expected in the northern to central Rockies. Heat is spreading across the eastern U.S.. Read More >

A record heat wave baked the Midwest in early July 1936. The temperature reached 100°F and above for a record eleven consecutive days from July 5 to July 11. People had to cope with the extreme heat without the benefit of air-conditioning. The all-time high and high minimum temperatures for the quad cities were recorded on July 14th when the mercury reached a sizzling 111°F and only dropped to a low of 84°F. It was the warmest summer on record with an average temperature of 78.8 degrees. July was also the warmest month with an average temperature of 85 degrees.

**Table 1: Daily record high temperature (°F) from July 4 to July 17, 1936**
Date	Burlington, IA	Cedar Rapids, IA	Dubuque, IA	Moline, IL
4	108	-	-	-
5	108	-	-	105
6	105	102	102	105
7	105	100	102	105
8	105	-	101	104
9	104	-	-	102
10	106	-	103	105
11	107	-	107	107
12	109	106	106	108
13	108	108	107	107
14	111	109	110	111
15	111	105	101	106
16	100	-	-	-
17	105	102	100	103

**Table 2: Record warm low temperatures (°F) July 7 to July 15, 1936**
Date	Dubuque, IA	Moline, IL
7	-	81
8	-	80
9	78	82
10	80	80
11	-	81
12	76	81
13	77	82
14	79	84
15	-	83

Davenport Public Library Special Collections article about heat wave

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Dangerous Fire Conditions in the Southern High Plains; Severe Weather in the Central Plains and Upper Midwest; Late-Season Mountain Snow

July 1936 Heat Wave