Texas Summer Hottest on Record in U.S.

It's been a hot summer in Texas.

In fact, Texas has just finished the hottest summer (June-August) on record of any U.S. state, The National Weather Service reports Thursday.

A meteorologist at the center, Victor Murphy, told the Associated Press that Texas' 86.8-degree average beat out Oklahoma's 85.2 degrees in 1934 during the Dust Bowl.

In fact, Oklahoma ended up beating their record too, notching an average of 86.5 degrees this summer. The Associated Press Reports that Oklahoma's average of 89.1 degrees in July marks the higher monthly average temperature ever.

The figures are taken from the entire day, and not just averaging the highs of each day, which would make the figures much larger. Texas endured over a month of consecutive days with highs of 100 degrees or more.

The reports points to La Nina as the primary phenomenon, which looks like it is re-emerging. La Nina is a phenomenon associated with cooler sea temperatures in the Pacific, which leads to dry conditions in Southern U.S. States. Other states-such as Louisiana, New Mexico and Arizona-also have been experiencing high temperatures.

Texas is facing their worst drought in decades, leading to more than 21,000 wildfires throughout the Lone Star State, the Texas Forest Service told CNN. The drought has caused more than $5 billion to Texas's agricultural economy. Wildfire damages to homeowners could exceed $100 million dollars, a spokesman for the Insurance Council of Texas told the news organization.

The American pocketbook soon could feel the effects of the drought. The agricultural damage likely will cause food and clothing prices to rise, given that many of the resources have been destroyed. Commodity futures such as corn and soybeans are nearing the 52 week high-prices, as they are currently at $7.372 and $14.12 as of their last openings on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, respectively.