NOAA and its partners have released the latest Regional Climate Impacts and Outlooks, which recap autumn conditions and provide insight into what might be expected this winter.
Autumn Temperature Recap
- The meteorological autumn (September-November) average temperature for the Lower 48 was 54.7°F, 1.2°F above average, ranking in the warmest third on record.
- Autumn temperatures were above average from the West Coast to the Great Lakes and into the Northeast as well as along portions of the East Coast. Temperatures were near- or below-normal in parts of the Southwest, the southern Plains, and from the southern and central Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley and Southeast. Maine ranked fourth warmest while five additional states ranked among their warmest-10 autumn seasons on record.
- The Alaska autumn temperature was 29.2°F, 3.3°F above the long-term average, ranking 18th warmest on record for the state. Temperatures were above average across most of the state with the central Interior region near average for the season.
Autumn Precipitation Recap
- The U.S. autumn precipitation total was 5.92 inches, 0.96 inch below average, ranking in the driest third of the September-November record.
- Precipitation was above average across parts of the Rockies, Southwest and East Coast. Precipitation during September-November was below average along the West Coast and from the northern and central Plains to the Great Lakes and Ohio River Valley. Nebraska ranked fifth driest while four additional states experienced a top-10 driest autumn season on record.
- For the autumn season, precipitation ranked 12th wettest across Alaska with wetter-than-average conditions observed across most of the state. Parts of the central Interior, Aleutians and southern Panhandle experienced near average precipitation for this period.
Winter Temperature Outlook
The January-March 2023 temperature outlook favors below-normal temperatures across the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, and northern Great Plains. Below-normal temperatures are also favored for southeastern Alaska. Above-normal temperatures are more likely for the southern and eastern contiguous United States (CONUS) along with parts of northern Alaska and the Aleutians.
Winter Precipitation Outlook
The January-March 2023 precipitation outlook depicts elevated probabilities for above-normal precipitation for the Pacific Northwest, northern Rockies, parts of the northern Great Plains, and from the Great Lakes southward to the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Below-normal precipitation is favored for central to southern California, the Southwest, central to southern Great Plains, Gulf Coast, and parts of the Southeast.
Impacts and Outlooks for Your Region
Get more details for your region in the December 2022 climate impacts and outlooks summaries:
- Alaska and Northwestern Canada Region
- Great Lakes Region
- Gulf of Maine Region
- Mid-Atlantic Region (Coming soon)
- Midwest Region
- Missouri River Basin Region
- Northeast Region
- Pacific Region
- Southeast Region
- Southern Region
- Western Region
Creating These Quarterly Summaries
NOAA’s Regional Climate Services lead the production of these quarterly summaries of climate impacts and outlooks for various regions of the United States as well as parts of Canada along the border. This effort, which began in 2012, includes 11 unique regional products that are produced collaboratively with partner organizations.
You can access all of the Climate Impacts and Outlooks summaries as well as additional reports and assessments through the U.S. Drought Portal Reports web page at Drought.gov.
