How have the last 12 months compared with normal in the US?

Of the 12 months from October 2025 to September 2026, March 2026 was the warmest compared with normal across the contiguous US, 9.4°F above its 1901–2000 average for that month. May 2026 was the coolest compared with normal, at 1.5°F (below zero means colder than average). Each bar compares a month with the same month's average, so a warm January and a warm July are measured alike.

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the table below.

The value axis starts at zero. Hover, tap or use the arrow keys to read exact values.

Save a simple drawing of this chart for slides, essays or posts, with its question, source, date and a link back to this page. Please keep the credit.

Download image

A tall picture for Pinterest or an Instagram story, with the question, answer, source, date and this page's address.

Save to Pinterest Download tall image
Chartly Pro: downloads and embeds without the credit. Join the waitlist

It doesn't exist yet. Tell us what you'd use it for, and we'll email you once when it's ready. Downloads and embeds with the credit stay free.

Nothing to pay. We'll email you once, when Pro is ready. See our privacy policy.

Key facts

Measure: °F above (or below) that month's 1901–2000 average. Written from the data below.

  • Mar 2026 has the highest figure, 9.35, followed by Feb 2026 (6.44) and Dec 2025 (5.15).
  • May 2026 has the lowest figure, 1.49, followed by Jun 2026 (2.19) and Oct 2025 (2.85).

Teachers: add this chart to a class assignment, one link to post in Google Classroom, Canvas or Moodle.

Source and date

Source
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance
License
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Data as of
Published

Citation

Chartly. “How have the last 12 months compared with normal in the US?” Chart. Data: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Climate at a Glance, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/national/time-series (data as of September 30, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/us-temperature-last-12-months (accessed November 4, 2026).

Free for your article, blog or class page: paste this code where the chart should go. It shows the interactive chart with its source and a small “Chart by Chartly” credit, and stays up to date when the data changes. Need it without the credit? Join the Chartly Pro waitlist.

The data

Download data (CSV)

The file has the numbers in this table, with the source, license and date. Please credit the source and Chartly. Developers can also get them as JSON (how).

Month °F above (or below) that month's 1901–2000 average
Oct 2025 2.85
Nov 2025 5
Dec 2025 5.15
Jan 2026 3
Feb 2026 6.44
Mar 2026 9.35
Apr 2026 3.73
May 2026 1.49
Jun 2026 2.19
Jul 2026 3.32
Aug 2026 3.46
Sep 2026 4.58

Get new charts weekly

One email a week with the newest charts and their key numbers. No account needed.