Today long-standing weather records are being broken across the state. Nashville has a forecasted high that could break a record of 102 degrees set back in 1954.

But Meteorologist Bobby Boyd of the National Weather Service says it’s not one-day spikes that are making the biggest history.

“Right now, August of ’07 is averaging – in terms of temperature – nearly four degrees hotter than the hottest August in the record books.”

Triple digits for seven of the last eight days have been a factor in boosting that average temperature, but so have the overnight temperatures. Three evenings have set records, one night cooling down to only 81 degrees.

The region is also on track to have the driest summer on record, with less than 4 inches of rain since the first of June.

High temperatures continue to take a toll throughout the Southeast. In Memphis, where highs are forecast to be 107 this afternoon, the heat has been blamed for five deaths.