Summer still carries many of the expectations Americans have long associated with the season: beach days, backyard cookouts, lightning bugs at dusk, and the relief of mountain air. However, across the United States, many of the sensory markers that once defined summer are becoming less reliable as Earth's warming reshapes the season, as Grist explored in a recent feature.
Here's what to know
In a collection of first-person essays published by Grist, people across the country described how rising temperatures and their effects are changing summer in intimate, emotional ways.
Data shows the scale of those shifts. Tucson typically gets only about 11 inches of rain in a year, and Climate Central says its annual precipitation has declined by nearly 3 inches since 1970. Rachel Glickhouse, Grist's director of partnerships, said Arizona's monsoon season has become "more erratic and unpredictable."
Elsewhere, the effects take different forms. During the Pacific Northwest heat dome in June 2021, Seattle hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit, and a study by the Environmental Protection Agency stated that "climate change made the heat dome 150 times more likely compared to preindustrial conditions," according to Grist.
In Atlantic City, New Jersey, average temperatures from September through November have climbed 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970, creating 14 additional above-normal days each year, the outlet noted.
More background
The changes are not limited to higher temperatures; they are also reshaping the traditions, routines, and places people return to each summer.
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That looks different depending on the place: fewer fireflies on Georgia evenings, less predictable summer fog in California, lower and more crowded rivers in Montana, and Florida beach outings disrupted by sargassum or toxic algae.
At the same time, worsening extreme weather is putting both lives and livelihoods at risk.
When heat waves and wildfires create poor air quality and smoke, the dangers of dehydration, heat stroke, and respiratory stress rise. Flooding, drought, and severe storms can also damage homes, destroy crops, reduce business activity, and make outdoor labor more dangerous, with ripple effects for public health, community safety, and economic stability.
In the Pacific Northwest, wildfire smoke has made checking air quality as routine as checking the forecast. A similar issue — caused by dust and pollution — prompts Frida Garza, a staff writer at Grist, to warn friends visiting El Paso, Texas: "It's beautiful, just stay safe! Go early to beat the sun! Bring lots of water!"
What can be done?
As Grist detailed, adaptation is already under way. Cities are expanding cooling strategies; households are installing air-conditioning; and communities are reconsidering how they manage water, wildfire risk, and heat exposure. Farmers are adjusting by shifting work schedules, testing hardier crops, and saving seeds from plants that withstand punishing summers.
Tracking local heat and air quality alerts, avoiding strenuous activity during peak temperatures, improving home insulation, using shades and fans strategically, and seeking cooling centers or shaded public spaces can all reduce risks.
Even so, cutting the pollution that is overheating the planet remains essential if communities hope to keep more of summer intact. That would not restore every altered ritual, but it could keep others from being lost.
Emily Jones, a regional reporter for Grist, described late-season heat at the Jersey Shore through her mother's simple assessment: "October is the new September."
Where can I learn more?
Changes to summer traditions are unfolding alongside worsening heat, uneven regional risk, and damage that can linger long after a disaster passes. The articles here look at how those pressures are changing daily life and long-term safety across the U.S.
• Extremes in summer 2025 were expected to bring dangerous heat.
• In several U.S. states, worsening extreme weather is making daily life harder and less predictable.
• After major storms, weeks following the event can bring higher death rates and strained healthcare systems.
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