Nope, it's not just your imagination. The year 2006 really is shaping up to become the hottest year on record.

Since I'm not a numbers person, I usually tune out when I see bunch of statistics. But these stats from the NOAA's National Climatic Data Center are too unnerving to be ignored.

They also provide some historical perspective on climate change that — at the very least — will give most of us a moment of pause. Meanwhile, I'm memorizing a couple of these stats, for the next naysayer who insist that global warming is a myth.

Here's the breakdown:

• January-July 2006 has been the warmest January-July of any year in the U.S. since they began keeping records in 1895.
  

• July — which saw a blistering heatwave that stretched from coast-to-coast — is the second-hottest July recorded in the United States. (The hottest occurred in 1936.)
  

• July 2006 broke more than 2,300 daily temperature records throughout the country.

• Worldwide, based on land and water temperatures, it's been the third-hottest July on record.

• NOAA climatologists determined that our residential energy demands are 22% higher than if our summer temperatures hit the average.

• The average temperature for July in the U.S., using the mean from 1901-2000, is 73° F. This July, the average temperature was 77°F.

Apparently, we're also in the middle of a fairly serious drought. In July, 51% of the country — particularly in the Plains states and Southeast —was in moderate-to-extreme drought. That's up five percent from June, and indicates one of the most severe droughts in the past 50 years. The average precipitation across the continental U.S. was only .18 inch!

In other words, if you think it's been a cruel, cruel summer, you're absolutely right.