Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Western Region - December 2023

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Western Region for September–November 2023. Dated December 2023.

Autumn temperatures were above normal across most of the West with the greatest anomalies (2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit above normal) in Arizona, New Mexico, and Montana. Notably, New Mexico saw its third warmest Autumn on record. Autumn precipitation was below normal for most of California and the Four Corners states, and above normal for most of the Great Basin, Wyoming, and Montana. Conditions were mixed across the Pacific Northwest, but generally anomalies ranged 80%–110% of normal.

NOAA’s Regional Climate Services Program creates these climate outlooks to inform the public about recent climate impacts within their respective regions. Each regional report contains easy-to-understand language, and anyone can access them through the U.S. Drought Portal.