Wildflowers bloom at Carrizo Plain National Monument near Santa Margarita, California, on March 12, 2026. A moist autumn over central California helped prompt an early-spring bloom despite drier conditions from winter into spring. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
The period of March through May 2026 ranked as the second warmest spring in records going back to 1895 for the contiguous U.S., according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Across the past 131 years, only 2012 had a warmer spring, said NCEI in its monthly analysis released on June 8.
The nationwide average temperatures for both spring 2012 (56.17 degrees Fahrenheit) and 2026 (55.79°F) are both more than 1.5°F above any rivals in the 131-year database. Spring 2026 was the hottest on record for Arizona, Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico, and 38 of the 48 contiguous states had a top-five hottest spring (see Fig. 2).
Figure 1. Average temperature for the contiguous United States for each spring (March-May) from 1895 through 2026. (Image credit: NOAA/NCEI)
Figure 2. Temperature rankings by state for the contiguous United States for each spring (March-May) from 1895 through 2026. (Image credit: NOAA/NCEI)
