July 1936 Heat Wave

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