If it hasn’t felt quite as hot outside as it has in years past, that’s because it is.

Summer, which officially began on Wednesday, started off a little cooler than in the past, according to climate history from the National Weather Service.

In Andalusia, Wed-nesday’s high sat at 85 degrees – six degrees cooler than the 95 degrees seen in 2011. It also got a little cooler at night – 69 degrees compared to last year’s nightly low of 76 degrees.

The hottest temperature on history for Covington County’s first day of summer was 102 degrees, recorded in 1936.

The entire state is part of a heat hazard warning from the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center.

An area that stretches 1,600 miles from Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to the Gulf Coast will have much higher-than-normal temperatures or excessive heat over the weekend, according to a climate center warning published Wednesday.

This heat is caused by an upper-level area of high pressure across the central United States.

AccuWeather.com is forecasting a steady increase in local highs from 92 on Friday, 95 degrees on Saturday, 96 degrees on Sunday and 97 on Monday.

The NWS website offers tips for combating heat. Advice includes drinking plenty of water, staying in an air-conditioned room and keeping out of the sun. You should also check on older neighbors and relatives and make sure that pets have plenty of water to drink and a shady place to cool off.