Climate

The global land and ocean temperature departure from average for August 2019 was the second warmest on record for the month of August.

For August, the contiguous U.S. average temperature was 73.9°F, 1.8°F above the 20th century average and tied with 1955 as the 13th warmest August on record. During meteorological summer (June–August) , the average temperature for the Lower 48 was 72.4°F, 1.0°F above average, ranking in the upper third of the historical record. For the year to date , the contiguous U.S. temperature was 54.3°F, 0.4°F above the 20th century average, ranking in the middle third of the January–August record. The August precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. was 2.74 inches, 0.12 inch above average, ranking in the middle third of the 125-year period of record. The summer precipitation total across the Lower 48 was 8.83 inches, 0.51 inch above average, ranking in the upper third of the historical record due to a wet June. The year-to-date precipitation total across the contiguous U.S. was 24.59 inches, 3.88 inches above the long-term average, ranking as the wettest January–August on record. Five of the first six months of 2019 were wet, contributing to the record wet accumulation for January–August. Average precipitation across the contiguous U.S. for the 12-month period September 2018–August 2019 was 37.55 inches, 7.61 inches above average, exceeding the previous September–August

Scientists develop improved soil moisture metrics from NOAA’s U.S. Climate Reference Network data.

Scientific partners contribute to a sustained effort to understand the underlying factors driving global climate change.

The global land and ocean temperature departure from average for July 2019 was the highest on record for the month of July, making it the warmest month overall on record.

We’re announcing the release of the State of the Climate in 2018 report, an annual assessment of Earth’s climate system.

During July, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 74.6°F, 1.0°F above the 20th century average.

An alternative method has been developed for U.S. averages of temperature and precipitation that accounts for climate variability and change.

The global land and ocean temperature departure from average for June 2019 was highest on record for the month of June.

The contiguous U.S. has surpassed its wettest 12-month period on record for the third time in 2019.