As soon as 2020 ended, people started asking when the new normals would be released. They are updated every ten years and cover the latest 30-year period, which represents the current average climate. The newest normals for 1991-2020 will be released by NOAA in a few weeks, and are expected to reflect the rising temperatures that we are seeing across the US as the climate gets warmer. Today, NOAA released a news story which describes what the change in normals is expected to show and how it reflects the changing climate. The maps below show how the 30-year normals have changed over time compared to the long-term average for temperature and precipitation. Note that the Southeast has not seen the big increases in precipitation that many other parts of the Eastern US has experienced due to our relatively frequent droughts over the last two decades. You can read the full article here.
