BIGFORK, Mont. — On a recent afternoon, it was a crisp 70 degrees on the football field at the high school in this northwestern Montana community less than 200 miles south of the U.S.-Canada border.
Vikings head coach Jim Benn was running his team through drills in the pristine fall weather, without much interruption. Just a couple of weeks earlier, though, players needed frequent water breaks as they sweated through temperatures in the low to mid-90s, about 15 degrees higher than average for the time of year.
Although temperatures have started to drop now that autumn is underway, Montana and many other states in the northern U.S. are getting hotter — and staying hot for longer. August is when many high school sports ramp up, and this year’s was either the hottest on record or close to it for many communities across Montana, according to the National Weather Service and other meteorologists. The heat wave stretched into September, and at least six Montana cities broke the 100-degree mark during the first half of the month.
This August was the hottest on record for the nearby states of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Nationwide, this summer was the third-hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.
Health experts and researchers say …