Mass. experiences hottest first six months ever recorded

E-mail | Print | Comments () 07/10/2012 11:39 AM

John Tlumacki/Globe Staff

Children from the Neighborhood House Charter School in Dorchester sought relief from the heat at the Frog Pond on Boston Common in late June.

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By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

You’ve been feeling it when you step outside. Now the figures agree with you.

The first six months of the year were the hottest first half of the year on record for the continental United States -- and for Massachusetts, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says.

The national average was 4.5 degrees above normal, while in Massachusetts, the average was 4.6 degrees above normal. It was the hottest it’s been in 118 years of recordkeeping.

Massachusetts was one of 28 states east of the Rockies that broke heat records for the period, a group that also included New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

For much of the rest of the workweek, seasonably warm temperatures, along with comfortable humidity, are expected, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton.

Today will be similar to Monday with sunny skies, but with temperatures a little warmer, mostly in the mid- to upper 80s, the forecasters said.

Highs Wednesday will be in the mid-80s and “fine weather” is expected to continue Thursday and Friday, the agency said.