For the Northeast, it has been hotter than ever.

The upstate New York cities of Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, Ithaca, Utica and Binghamton have had their hottest June and July ever officially recorded, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

Keith Eggleston, climatologist for the climate center, blames the heat on the Bermuda high pressure system hovering over the region. "With a high pressure system from Bermuda, we get a flow from the south across our area, and that brings moist, hot humid air over the Northeast. This phenomenon happens frequently," said Eggleston. "What's been unusual is that the flow has persisted for so long. Normally, you'll see a week or so of hot weather around here. This summer it set, and it did not leave, and it's been the controlling factor of our weather for the last two months."

Ithaca -- with an average temperature of 71.4 degrees -- smashed its old record, set in 1999, by a sweltering 2 degrees. Syracuse (73.8 degrees) and Buffalo (73.6 degrees) beat their old records by 1.7 degrees; Syracuse's previous record was set in 1999 and Buffalo's in 1967. Albany (73.5 degrees) broke its 1999 record by 1.8 degrees, and Binghamton (70.6 degrees) beat its 1975 record by 1.1 degrees.

Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa., (74.1 degrees) beat its 1966 record by 1.4 degrees, and Erie, Pa., broke its 1999 record by 1.1 degrees.

Note: The following table will line up in a fixed-width font such as Courier.

                              2005 
Location                    Avg Temp   Rank   Hottest   Year

Syracuse, N.Y.                73.8     1st
Buffalo, N.Y.                 73.6     1st
Albany, N.Y.                  73.5     1st
Utica, N.Y.                   71.7     1st
Ithaca, N.Y.                  71.4     1st
Binghamton, N.Y.              70.6     1st
Scranton, Pa.                 74.1     1st
Erie, Pa.                     73.4     1st
Rochester, N.Y.               71.9     2nd     72.1     1973
Burlington, Vt.               71.9     2nd     72.2     1999
Hartford, Conn.               73.4     3rd     74.0     1994
Pittsburgh                    73.4     4th     74.2     1991
Philadelphia                  76.8     6th     80.1     1994
New York City                 75.7     10th    77.7     1966
Washington, D.C.              78.2     11th    80.7     1994
Baltimore                     75.9     11th    78.7     1994
Boston                        70.9     20th    74.4     1994
				
This is for the past 50 years.