Record US warmth arrives with drought’s grip

record US – March closed the hottest 12-month stretch for the contiguous U.S. since records began in 1895, with temperatures far above the 20th-century average and widespread dryness. By March 31, nearly 60% of the country was in drought conditions, and the combination of

For the contiguous U.S., March didn’t just feel warmer than usual—it ended up as a turning point. The month was 9.35 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than the 20th-century average for March, the kind of gap that NOAA says has only happened once before in the nation’s record set.

That surge is part of why the last 12 months now stand as the hottest on record since official tracking began in 1895. NOAA’s data show the average temperature in the contiguous U.S. for March was about 50.9 degrees Fahrenheit (10.5 degrees Celsius). March also brought a sharp daytime signal: daytime temperatures averaged 11.4 degrees F higher than the last century’s average.

The heat wasn’t confined to the calendar. NOAA said the average of maximum daytime temperatures was so high that it exceeded the month’s overall average temperature and was almost a full degree Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century average for April—despite April being a month that typically runs hot.

State by state, the pattern stretched widely. Ten U.S. states—including Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, and Texas—recorded their warmest March on record. Alaska was the exception to the rule of warmth. with an average temperature of 0.6 degree F. making it the fourth coldest March there since Alaska’s records began in 1925.

The story becomes even more alarming when the skies won’t make up for the heat with rain or snow. In March, the average total precipitation for the month was 1.83 inches—0.68 inch below the 20th-century average. January and February also ran extraordinarily dry, pushing the first three months of 2026 to the driest start on record.

As that dryness accumulated, the drought map expanded. On March 31, almost 60 percent of the country was classified as being in drought conditions, up from 55 percent at the beginning of the month.

Warmth carried into April as well. The contiguous U.S. experienced its third-warmest April on record, with above-average temperatures across much of the country. The Southeast stood out for a different kind of strain: it had its most extensive drought ever recorded. with nearly 100 percent of the region reporting drought conditions at one point in mid-April.

When heat and drought land together, the risk doesn’t stay abstract. NOAA’s figures point toward higher-than-average wildfire danger. especially across the Southwest. Southern Plains. and Central High Plains. as well as the Deep South and Southeast. Last year, wildfires in the U.S. led to dozens of deaths and destroyed more than 18,300 buildings and five million acres of land.

The U.S. isn’t moving in isolation. The World Meteorological Organization found that the period from 2015 to 2025 included the 11 hottest years on record globally.

And in the same way that March reshaped the U.S. temperature record, the dryness has been reshaping what the landscape can withstand. By the end of March. it was no longer just about a hot month—it was about how fast the conditions can tip from uncomfortable heat into danger. with wildfire risk growing as the ground runs out of moisture.

NOAA record heat drought wildfire risk March 2026 average temperature precipitation contiguous U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration climate