NOAA 1991–2020 · 6,861 U.S. locations
What's the climate really like across America?
Compare temperature, rain, snow, and comfort across 6,861 U.S. locations using NOAA's 30-year baseline for a typical year.
The U.S. climate at a glance
Across 6,861 station-mapped locations, 30-year-normal temperatures span about 66°F, from Nuiqsut, AK near 13°F to the Sun Belt above 79°F.
- 53°F
- national mean annual temperature across 6,861 locations
- 66°F
- spread from the coldest to the warmest location record
- 35"
- average annual precipitation across the 6,352 locations with a precipitation normal
- 1991–2020
- NOAA 30-year climate-normals window · 15,492 stations
Climate normals are 30-year averages, not forecasts, they describe the typical year, which any single year may run warmer, cooler, wetter, or drier than.
U.S. annual mean temperature by state
State-by-state annual mean temperature from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals, the 30-year averaging window the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses to define U.S. climate baseline. Cell color encodes the temperature; warmer reds are Gulf Coast and Sun Belt states, cooler blues are Northern Tier and Mountain West.
View all 51 states as a list
- Florida: 73°F
- Hawaii: 72°F
- Louisiana: 67°F
- Texas: 66°F
- Mississippi: 64°F
- Georgia: 63°F
- Alabama: 63°F
- South Carolina: 63°F
- Arizona: 62°F
- Arkansas: 61°F
- Oklahoma: 60°F
- California: 60°F
- District of Columbia: 59°F
- North Carolina: 59°F
- Tennessee: 58°F
- Delaware: 56°F
- Kentucky: 56°F
- Virginia: 56°F
- Maryland: 56°F
- Missouri: 55°F
- Kansas: 55°F
- New Mexico: 54°F
- New Jersey: 54°F
- Indiana: 52°F
- Nevada: 52°F
- West Virginia: 52°F
- Illinois: 52°F
- Ohio: 52°F
- Rhode Island: 51°F
- Oregon: 51°F
- Pennsylvania: 50°F
- Connecticut: 50°F
- Washington: 50°F
- Nebraska: 50°F
- Utah: 49°F
- Massachusetts: 49°F
- Iowa: 48°F
- New York: 48°F
- Colorado: 46°F
- Idaho: 46°F
- South Dakota: 46°F
- Michigan: 46°F
- New Hampshire: 45°F
- Wisconsin: 45°F
- Vermont: 44°F
- Montana: 43°F
- Wyoming: 43°F
- Maine: 43°F
- Minnesota: 42°F
- North Dakota: 41°F
- Alaska: 34°F
Temperature × precipitation · 50-state landscape
Warm states are not one climate
PlainClimate's state averages separate the warm half of the country into very different climates. Among states at or above the 50-state median annual temperature, Nevada averages 8.9 inches of precipitation while Louisiana averages 60.3 inches, a 51.4-inch gap. These are simple averages across each state's station-mapped locations, not official statewide or population-weighted normals.
Read all 50 state values
Each point is PlainClimate's simple average across the station-mapped location normals available for that state. Cohort sizes vary and are shown below; the values are not population weighted. Dashed lines mark the median of this 50-state comparison and are guides, not comfort or safety thresholds.
| State | Locations | Annual mean | Annual precipitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | 172 | 33.5°F | 47.6 in |
| Alabama | 100 | 63.3°F | 57.9 in |
| Arkansas | 110 | 60.7°F | 52.2 in |
| Arizona | 169 | 62.3°F | 12.4 in |
| California | 363 | 59.8°F | 21.6 in |
| Colorado | 214 | 46.3°F | 15.9 in |
| Connecticut | 23 | 50.1°F | 48.6 in |
| Delaware | 7 | 56.2°F | 46.8 in |
| Florida | 165 | 72.6°F | 55.2 in |
| Georgia | 122 | 63.4°F | 52.0 in |
| Hawaii | 49 | 72.4°F | 48.5 in |
| Iowa | 143 | 48.0°F | 35.9 in |
| Idaho | 139 | 46.1°F | 18.0 in |
| Illinois | 163 | 52.2°F | 40.7 in |
| Indiana | 116 | 52.4°F | 43.7 in |
| Kansas | 168 | 54.8°F | 31.2 in |
| Kentucky | 95 | 56.2°F | 50.6 in |
| Louisiana | 91 | 67.3°F | 60.3 in |
| Massachusetts | 68 | 49.2°F | 48.2 in |
| Maryland | 42 | 55.6°F | 45.5 in |
| Maine | 79 | 43.1°F | 46.4 in |
| Michigan | 201 | 45.5°F | 34.2 in |
| Minnesota | 172 | 42.2°F | 30.0 in |
| Missouri | 164 | 55.1°F | 43.9 in |
| Mississippi | 91 | 64.1°F | 59.7 in |
| Montana | 215 | 43.4°F | 15.9 in |
| North Carolina | 178 | 59.1°F | 52.2 in |
| North Dakota | 119 | 41.0°F | 19.2 in |
| Nebraska | 171 | 49.6°F | 25.0 in |
| New Hampshire | 52 | 44.5°F | 46.6 in |
| New Jersey | 45 | 53.6°F | 47.9 in |
| New Mexico | 167 | 54.3°F | 13.8 in |
| Nevada | 115 | 52.4°F | 8.9 in |
| New York | 173 | 47.5°F | 43.7 in |
| Ohio | 128 | 51.6°F | 41.1 in |
| Oklahoma | 159 | 60.3°F | 35.7 in |
| Oregon | 180 | 50.5°F | 37.6 in |
| Pennsylvania | 157 | 50.2°F | 45.2 in |
| Rhode Island | 9 | 51.2°F | 48.7 in |
| South Carolina | 100 | 62.8°F | 49.8 in |
| South Dakota | 149 | 45.6°F | 21.8 in |
| Tennessee | 146 | 58.0°F | 56.0 in |
| Texas | 449 | 66.2°F | 31.1 in |
| Utah | 170 | 49.4°F | 13.9 in |
| Virginia | 119 | 55.8°F | 46.0 in |
| Vermont | 41 | 43.5°F | 43.7 in |
| Washington | 149 | 49.9°F | 40.9 in |
| Wisconsin | 200 | 44.5°F | 34.6 in |
| West Virginia | 99 | 52.3°F | 47.6 in |
| Wyoming | 144 | 43.3°F | 14.0 in |
Derived by PlainClimate from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals · simple averages across each state's varying station-mapped-location cohort · data updated 2026-08-04.
Warmest station-mapped locations
View top 25Coldest Cities
View top 25Most Comfortable Climates
View top 25National climate rankings
Full 50-state and station-mapped-location rankings computed from NOAA 1991–2020 normals.
Coldest states ranked by NOAA normals
34°F
Alaska leads the annual ranking
Hottest states ranked by NOAA normals
73°F
Florida leads the annual ranking
Hottest locations ranked by NOAA normals
79°F
Key West, FL tops all location records
Sunniest states by clear-sky frequency
71.3%
Arizona has the clearest measured skies
Browse by State
Alabama
100 locations
Alaska
172 locations
Arizona
169 locations
Arkansas
110 locations
California
363 locations
Colorado
214 locations
Connecticut
23 locations
Delaware
7 locations
District of Columbia
1 locations
Florida
165 locations
Georgia
122 locations
Hawaii
49 locations
Idaho
139 locations
Illinois
163 locations
Indiana
116 locations
Iowa
143 locations
Kansas
168 locations
Kentucky
95 locations
Louisiana
91 locations
Maine
79 locations
Maryland
42 locations
Massachusetts
68 locations
Michigan
201 locations
Minnesota
172 locations
Mississippi
91 locations
Missouri
164 locations
Montana
215 locations
Nebraska
171 locations
Nevada
115 locations
New Hampshire
52 locations
New Jersey
45 locations
New Mexico
167 locations
New York
173 locations
North Carolina
178 locations
North Dakota
119 locations
Ohio
128 locations
Oklahoma
159 locations
Oregon
180 locations
Pennsylvania
157 locations
Rhode Island
9 locations
South Carolina
100 locations
South Dakota
149 locations
Tennessee
146 locations
Texas
449 locations
Utah
170 locations
Vermont
41 locations
Virginia
119 locations
Washington
149 locations
West Virginia
99 locations
Wisconsin
200 locations
Wyoming
144 locations
Climate Guides
Learn how to read and use NOAA climate normals data.
Understanding Climate Normals
What 30-year averages are, how NOAA calculates them, and what the 1991-2020 baseline means.
Best Climates for Living
Temperature ranges, precipitation, sunshine, and humidity, what data reveals about the most livable US climates.
Reading Weather Data
How to interpret temperatures, precipitation totals, snow days, and sunshine hours on PlainClimate.
Best Climates for Retirement
Top US cities ranked by mild temps, low humidity, and sunshine, NOAA data for the 15 best retirement climates.
Understanding Extreme Weather
Heat waves, cold snaps, and precipitation extremes, US cities ranked by weather variability from NOAA data.
How to use this data
Climate normals answer one question well: what is a typical year like here?
- Planning a move or retirement? Compare comfort scores and frost-free days side by side. Browse rankings
- Gardening or building? Use a location profile’s frost dates, growing season, and degree days, not the regional average. Find a location
- Curious how fast it’s warming? See the U.S. anomaly tracked against the global mean. Warming vs normals
Normals describe the average 1991–2020 year; they are not weather forecasts and do not predict any single season.
Research
Original analysis published by PlainClimate, every statistic derived from our own database. See all research.
U.S. Climate Statistics: the National Picture
The national records behind every location page: coldest states by winter temperature, the widest seasonal swings, and the clearest average skies. Every figure is computed from the same NOAA 1991-2020 normals, with the scope and caveats stated.
ResearchHottest US States by 1991-2020 Average Temperatures
Explore states like Alabama and Florida with average annual temps over 63°F, drawing from NOAA data on 50 states and 15,492 stations to aggregate temp, precip, and snow metrics.
ResearchTemperature by Elevation Across 6,861 U.S. Locations
Analyze how primary-station elevation relates to annual temperature across the full NOAA-normalized location dataset.
About this data
How PlainClimate works, and why you can trust these numbers
What PlainClimate covers
PlainClimate is a plain-language reference for U.S. climate normals, covering 6,861 cities and 15,492 weather stations. Temperature, precipitation, snowfall, frost-date, and growing-season figures come from NOAA's 1991–2020 U.S. Climate Normals; the clearly labeled comfort score is PlainClimate's calculation from four of those fields.
How a city page gets built
- Source. Pull monthly, seasonal, and hourly normals directly from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 archive, plus the 30-year station inventory file.
- Verify. Every station record is matched to its NOAA station ID and location, so any city figure traces back to its underlying weather station.
- Publish. Compile per-city and per-state pages with temperature, precipitation, snow, humidity, and comfort scores, alongside rankings and research derived from the same dataset.
Independence and corrections
PlainClimate is independent and accepts no payment, sponsorship, or promoted placement. Found an error or a station mismatch? File a correction via the contact page; we review corrections and publish updates with a visible revision note. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.
Common questions about the normals
What are climate normals?
Climate normals are 30-year averages of weather observations, computed by NOAA for the period 1991-2020. They represent the "typical" weather conditions for a location and are updated every 10 years. These averages smooth out year-to-year variability to give a reliable picture of what weather to expect.
What data does PlainClimate provide?
PlainClimate provides monthly and annual temperature averages (high, low, mean), precipitation totals, snowfall amounts, frost dates, growing season length, heating/cooling degree days, comfort scores, and, for select cities, humidity, wind speed, and cloud cover data from hourly observations.
Where does this data come from?
All data comes from the NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 dataset, based on observations from over 15,492 weather stations across the United States for the 1991-2020 period.
What is the comfort score?
The comfort score (1-100) is PlainClimate's climate-only comparison of four NOAA-normal fields: annual temperature mildness, precipitation moderation, snowfall burden, and frost-free growing-season length. It is not an official NOAA metric or an overall livability rating; city pages show the exact points and national benchmarks behind each score.