New Local Climate Normals 1991-2020

Every 10 years we reassess what we refer to as "normal" when talking about our climate. For the past 10 years we've been using the 1981-2010 base period to assess this normal. Recently we received an update to our normals based on the new base period 1991-2020. You can see the new normals for all 5 of our climate locations here, as well as the difference between the new normals and the old normals where relevant.

As it turns out, losing the 1980s meant we lost more than just big hair and epic music. We also lost a cold and less snowy decade, replacing it with the warmer and snowier 2010s. At Portland, the 1980s were 1.4 degrees cooler than normal and 10.7 inches less snowy. The 2010s by contrast were 0.2 degrees warmer than normal and 8.3 inches snowier. At Concord, the 1980s were 1.3 degrees cooler than normal and 8.3 inches less snowy. The 2010s were 0.4 degrees warmer than normal and 4.0 inches snowier. For more information, and to access the data for a location near you, you can visit the NCEI website at https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/products/us-climate-normals