California Just Experienced its Hottest, Driest March in History

California just wrapped up the most abnormal March in recorded state history, and the numbers are hard to wrap your head around.

The state’s average temperature ran 12.6 degrees above normal, making it not only the hottest March California has ever seen, but the most anomalously warm month in state history going back to 1895. To put it in perspective: last month was warmer than a typical April, warmer than an average May, and as dry as a typical July.

Statewide precipitation came in at less than a quarter inch for the entire month, nearly 80% below the previous driest March on record.

California wasn’t alone. Ten western states broke their all-time March temperature records, including Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Across the full contiguous U.S., this March was the hottest in 132 years of recordkeeping, running more than 9 degrees above the 20th century average.

Federal climate scientists say this isn’t a one-month anomaly. The 12-month stretch from April 2025 through March 2026 was the hottest such period ever recorded for the contiguous United States. The driving force, according to NOAA researchers, is climate change fueled by the continued burning of fossil fuels.

For Northern California, the consequences are already taking shape. Reservoirs are running low. Crops, drinking water supplies, and manufacturing operations all depend on spring precipitation that largely never arrived. And fire weather conditions are intensifying heading into summer, with officials warning that this could shape up to be a particularly dangerous wildfire season.

Scientists say the heat trend is not expected to ease in the coming months.