The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) most recent State of the Climate Report, released on September 8, claims that the summer of 2010 was the fourth hottest summer on record for the United States.

The NOAA has been conducting the State of the Climate Report since 1895, taking factors into account such as storm patterns, precipitation and temperature. Results are compiled at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, NC. 

Of the lower 48 states, only seven had normal temperatures through the months of June, July and August. 10 were classified as "above normal," 29 were "much above normal," and two were "below normal."

For the summer of 2010, 10 states experienced their warmest summer ever. These states were Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The Southeast had their warmest summer ever while the Northeast had their fourth warmest and the Central states had their third warmest. 

The above normal warmth occurred mostly on the eastern side of the country, setting temperature records in cities like Asheville, NC, Tallahassee, FL, Wilmington, DE, Tenton, NJ, Philadelphia and New York City. 

Precipitation trends were off as well. For the first five months of the year, the Upper Midwest received no rainfall. When the summer months hit, heavy rainfall swarmed the area. States like Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Iowa and Michigan had their wettest summer in the top 10 this year, while Wisconsin experienced their wettest yet with 6.91 inches of rainfall above average. On the other hand, the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast experienced below average levels of precipitation due to a lack of tropical weather activity and a high pressure system.

As far as weather goes, Minnesota is set to break its record of 74 tornado's from 2001 while wildfires have settled down in the Western states due to milder weather. 

The NOAA's State of the Climate Report for August can be seen here.