In July 2012, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported.
The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, marking the warmest July and all-time warmest month on record for the nation in a period of record that dates back to 1895. The previous warmest July for the nation was July 1936, when the average U.S. temperature was 77.4°F.:
The Daily Caller reports on a blog article by Anthony Watts that claimed that the historical figures reported by the NOAA have been changed in the meantime, without explanation, reinstating July 1936 as the hottest month.
Watts ran the same data plot again on Sunday and found that NOAA inserted a new number in for July 1936. The average temperature for July 1936 was made slightly higher than July 2012, meaning, once again, July 1936 is the hottest year (sic) on record. [Annotations in the graph are from Watts]
and provides these graphs:
Is it true that NOAA now reports July 1936 as the hottest (July) month on record? If so, why was this changed?