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

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Western Region for June–August 2023. Dated September 2023.

Temperatures were above normal across the Pacific Northwest and much of the Southwest. New Mexico, Washington, and Oregon had their third, fifth, and seventh warmest summer on record, respectively. Remnants of Hurricane Hilary brought heavy rainfall to southern California and the Great Basin in mid-August and contributed to much-above-normal total summer precipitation across the region.

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.