America’s Hot Spots This Week: The 10 Hottest Places in the Lower 48

By Paul Harrison, Orbis Weather

Week of Thursday, November 5 to Wednesday, November 11, 2026. Published Thursday, November 12, 2026.

The hottest reading in the Lower 48 this week was 94°F (34.4°C) at a weather station in Yorba Linda, California, on Sunday, November 8. It was a warm week for early November, but not an extreme one. The heat sat in three corners of the country: coastal Southern California, the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas, and south Florida. Every place on this week’s list peaked between 90°F and 94°F.

The top 10

California placed five entries in the top 10, Texas four and Florida two; ties at 90°F stretch the list to 11 places.

Brownsville was the hottest official climate station, reaching 91°F at 1:39 p.m. on November 5. That was 8°F (4.4°C) above its normal of 83°F (28.3°C) and 1°F short of the date’s record, 92°F (33.3°C) set in 2017. Thursday, November 5, accounts for four of the 11 entries, all in south Texas.

What stands out

The national high moved west as the week went on. South Texas led on Thursday and south Florida on Friday. From Sunday, November 8, through Wednesday, every daily national high in the Weather Prediction Center reports came from Southern California. Los Angeles International Airport reached 88°F (31.1°C) on Sunday, 15°F (8.3°C) above its normal of 73°F (22.8°C), though well short of the 95°F record from 1956.

National Weather Service record reports show one daily record high set and one tied, both in California.

No record highs were reported in Texas, Florida or Arizona during the week.

The week ahead

National Weather Service forecasts top out in the mid-80s, with the desert Southwest cooling after Thursday.

Miami and Key West are also forecast to reach 84°F (28.9°C) on Thursday. No Heat Advisory or Extreme Heat Warning was in effect at any of these locations. Death Valley has a Wind Advisory from 4 p.m. PST Friday to 10 a.m. PST Saturday, with gusts forecast to 47 mph and patchy blowing dust.

The Climate Prediction Center’s 6–10 day outlook, issued November 11, reads: “Increased chances for above-normal temperatures are favored for most of the CONUS east of the Rockies,” while near- to below-normal temperatures are favored for parts of California, the Great Basin and the Southwest.

How this list is made

The list ranks observed daily maximum temperatures in the contiguous United States from Thursday, November 5, through Wednesday, November 11, 2026, with one entry per place at its hottest reading. It combines the Weather Prediction Center’s daily national high and low reports with daily summaries from airport weather stations in California, Texas, Florida and Arizona, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. The Weather Prediction Center names only each day’s single highest reading, so other non-airport sites may have run close to these values. A reading of 93°F (33.9°C) at El Monte, California, on November 9 was left out: it lasted a single hourly observation, about 5°F above the readings before it and 13°F above the next hour’s, while nearby stations peaked at 88°F. All figures are preliminary and may be revised.

Frequently asked questions

Where was the hottest place in the country this week? Yorba Linda, California, had the week’s top reading on Sunday, November 8. The station is a non-airport weather site. The hottest official airport climate station was Brownsville, Texas.

Why is Southern California so warm in November? The sources used for this list do not give a cause for this week’s warmth. They do show readings well above normal near the coast, such as at Los Angeles International Airport. Coastal sites set or tied two daily records.

Is any heat warning in effect for the coming week? No. None of the National Weather Service forecasts checked on November 12 showed a Heat Advisory or Extreme Heat Warning. Death Valley has a Wind Advisory instead.

Why does Death Valley not appear on this week’s list? The week’s hottest readings came from coastal and inland Southern California, south Texas and south Florida. Death Valley was not among the daily national highs. Its forecast high for Thursday is 85°F, which ties for the top spot in the week ahead.

Sources

• WPC US High/Low Temperature Extremes (XTEUS), Nov 5–12, 2026, via Iowa Environmental Mesonet
• IEM daily maximum temperatures, Texas ASOS, Nov 5–11, 2026
• IEM daily maximum temperatures, California ASOS, Nov 5–6, 2026 (also Nov 7–9 and Nov 10–11)
• IEM daily maximum temperatures, Florida ASOS, Nov 5–11, 2026
• IEM daily maximum temperatures, Arizona ASOS, Nov 5–11, 2026
• NWS climate report, Brownsville (CLIBRO), Nov 2026
• NWS climate report, Los Angeles International Airport (CLILAX), Nov 2026
• NWS Record Event Report, Los Angeles/Oxnard (RERLOX), Nov 11, 2026
• NWS Record Event Report, San Diego (RERSGX), Nov 8, 2026
• NWS forecast, Death Valley (Furnace Creek), issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, Palm Springs, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, Phoenix, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, Yuma, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, McAllen, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, Miami, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NWS forecast, Key West, issued Nov 12, 2026
• NOAA CPC 6–10 and 8–14 day outlook discussion, issued Nov 11, 2026