Extreme Fire Weather Concerns for the Western U.S.; Severe Weather and Flooding Threats for the Central U.S.

Extremely critical fire weather conditions are expected to develop across the Great Basin and Southwest today, and exceptionally dry and windy conditions will promote rapid wildfire spread through the weekend. Scattered severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are possible across parts of the Ozark Plateau into lower Ohio Valley and parts of the northern Rockies into adjacent Great Plains. 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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Extreme Fire Weather Concerns for the Western U.S.; Severe Weather and Flooding Threats for the Central U.S.

July 1936 Heat Wave