The summer of 2018 in Detroit was tied for the fifth hottest ever — which only means, if you're already dreading winter, that it wasn't quite hot enough.

The average temperature was 74.4 degrees, equal to 2011, 2010 and 1955. The trend wafted across much of Michigan: Sault Ste. Marie set a record at 67.4 degrees, according to the National Weather Service, and Muskegon had its third-hottest summer at 72.2 degrees.

Though the three cities are as much as 345 miles apart, "the same general weather patterns affect all of us in the summer," said NWS meteorologist Trent Frey. At the state's two other climate reporting stations, Saginaw had its 14th-warmest span, and Flint its 28th.

In Detroit, six of the eight hottest summers since 1874 have come in the last 14 years. The top four all-time are:

1. 2016 (74.9)

2. 2005 (74.8)

3. 2012 (74.7)

4. 1995 (74.5)

"There are so many different factors at play," Frey said, that he can't point to just one for the cluster this century. As a devoted hiker and fan of music festivals, however, he acknowledged that he has enjoyed them.

While summer doesn't officially end until the autumnal equinox on Sept. 22, meteorologists consider the season to be June through August.

Excluding Alaska and Hawaii, the average across that span for the United States in 2018 was 73.5 degrees, which is 2.1 degrees above the norm. That tied 1934 for the fourth-hottest in history.