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Heat wave: Oklahoma, Texas endure warmest months on record

By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Temperatures averaged 88.9 degrees in Oklahoma
  • NEW: The heat wave resulted in the fourth-warmest July for America
  • NEW: There are more hot days in store in the near future
  • One Texas town turns off the water because of shortage

(CNN) -- Texas and Oklahoma suffered through their warmest months on record as persistent heat scorched central and eastern states from May to July.

Temperatures averaged 88.9 degrees in Oklahoma -- the warmest monthly statewide average temperature ever recorded -- and 87.1 degrees in Texas, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday.

The heat wave resulted in the fourth-warmest July on record for the United States.

In Dallas, temperatures exceed 100 degrees for 30 of July's 31 days.

And there was no relief in sight. Temperatures are forecast to remain high in Texas and Oklahoma through the end of the week. Parts of the two states could cool off by the weekend, but temperatures are likely creep back up by next Monday.

If temperatures continue to hit 100 degrees or more by Saturday, Dallas will have set a record -- becoming the first city to mark 43 consecutive days of temperatures above 100 degrees.

Residents of nearby Kemp, Texas, were reeling from no water in the midst of the wretched heat.

As temperatures soared to the triple-digits for the 37th consecutive day Sunday, city officials made an emergency decision to shut off the town's water supply.

"Right now our water towers have no water in them at all," said Mayor Donald Kile. "According to the weather forecast we got no relief coming. We're believing and we're praying for rain."

In the meantime, Kile said the water supply could remain shut off for days while the towers refill. A combination of high water demand and old pipes caused major ruptures along waterlines and forced the city to resort to emergency procedures, Kile said.

The city will continue to provide bottled water to residents at city hall until the water supply is restored. But for Kay Bloomfield, 57, it was not enough.

"I've got two grandkids I had to bathe in the sink in there!" she told CNN affiliate WFAA-TV. "It's a necessity, you have to have water."

On Twitter, some Texas and Oklahoma residents were beseeching followers to do a rain dance for the parched states.

"I think I need to google how to do a rain dance, because we haven't seen rain in TX and OK for two months," Vincenzo Moretti tweeted.

CNN's Chelsea Bailey and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.