It's far too early to tell if this season will be warmer than most summers, but it's off to a good start, at least here in Michigan.

By changing one letter at a time to form different English words, and leaving all other letters in their original positions, convert SUMMER into HOTTER in the fewest number of steps possible. Good luck!

S U M M E R
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _
H O T T E R

Here is an eight-step SOLUTION.

AN EIGHT-STEP SOLUTION:

SUMMER > SIMMER > SIMPER > LIMPER > LISPER > LISTER > LITTER > HITTER > HOTTER

Did you come up with a different solution? Please post it in the comments; thanks!