(CNN) It was a record-setting September, but maybe not for the reasons you might think.

Last month was one of the hottest and driest Septembers on record for many states -- tied as the second-warmest September on record in the contiguous United States, according to data from the National Centers for Environmental Information

Here are the details, and what all this means in October..

Alaska had its third-warmest September on record

The statewide average temperature last month was 44.7 degrees, which may not seem very warm to those of us in the other 49 states but is uncharacteristic for the state. Septembers in Alaska typically average 40.6 degrees, and this one was the warmest since 1995.

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