Sacramento just sweated through warmest July on record. How hot did it get — and what’s next?

After several weeks of scorching temperatures, July went down as the warmest on record in Sacramento and several other California cities.

That’s according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service.

The data, released Friday, highlights the average monthly temperatures across cities in the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley.

“It probably comes as no surprise to anyone but it was a hot month,” the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office wrote Thursday in a social media post.

Here’s how hot it got in July, a temperature outlook for August and a seven-day forecast for Sacramento:

Sacramento has warmest July on record

Sacramento recorded its warmest July ever last month, the weather service said.

July’s climate data will be finalized later in August after it has undergone a validation process by the National Centers for Environmental Information, the agency said.

Sacramento Executive Airport recorded an average temperature of 81 degrees in July, surpassing its normal average temperature for the month by more than 5 degrees.

That’s not the only heat record the capital city busted recently.

From June 23 to July 12, Sacramento experienced a 20-day streak of hot weather with an average temperature of 103.8 degrees, according to the weather service. The city previously sweated through a 20-day heat wave with an average of 102.5 degrees in 1984.

Temperatures in downtown Sacramento broke daily heat records on July 12 and 13.

In a phone interview with The Sacramento Bee on Friday morning, National Weather Service meteorologist Bill Rasch said a “big dome of high pressure” resulted in record temperatures across California.

What about other California cities?

In July, Modesto, Stockton, Merced and Fresno all recorded their warmest mean average temperatures for the month, the weather service’s Hanford office said on social media.

Modesto reported a mean average temperature of 85 degrees in July, compared to its normal monthly average of 79 degrees.

Stockton averaged 83-degree days in July, which means the city was 5 degrees higher than its normal of 78 degrees.

Heat scorched in the San Joaquin Valley, with Fresno reported a mean average temperature of 90 degrees. The previous record for monthly average temperature, set in July 2021, was 88.7 degrees.

Merced’s mean average temperature for the month was 85.4 degrees, toppling a previous record set in July 1931 by about 1 degree.

According to National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Kittell, one San Luis Obispo County city unofficially had the hottest July on record since the agency started collecting data in 1952.

The monthly average temperature in Paso Robles was 100.2 degrees in July, compared to 99.5 degrees on average for the month in 1996 and 2023.

How did July temperatures affect California wildfires?

July’s searing weather coincided with the outbreak of massive wildfires across the state.

As of Friday afternoon, the Park Fire had burned more than 399,000 acres in Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The 2024 SQF Lightning Complex fire had scorched more than 89,000 acres in Kern and Tulare counties, and the Lake Fire in northern Santa Barbara County had blackened about 38,000 acres, Cal Fire said.

All three blazes started in July.

What will weather in August be like?

Folks shouldn’t expect temperatures this month to heat up nearly as much as July, Rasch said.

The National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center said there’s an equal chance of temperatures being normal or slightly above normal in August in California.

Equal chances are isolated along the state’s coast.

What’s the forecast for Sacramento?

The “brief” bout of monsoonal moisture expected to roll through the Sacramento region this weekend won’t offer much relief from the heat, Rasch said.

After a slight chance of sprinkles and gloomy skies on Friday, sunny weather is expected to return to the area over the weekend.

The capital region is forecast to see a high temperature of around 101 degrees on Saturday and a low temperature of 65 degrees, according to the weather service.

Sunday will see a high of 101 and a low of 62.

Temperatures are expected to remain relatively the same Monday through Wednesday, with highs of 100 to 101. Nighttime temperatures could dip to around 63 to 65.

A slight-cool down is expected on Thursday, when Sacramento will see a high of 96.

This story was originally published August 2, 2024 at 2:29 PM.