The main purpose of this ongoing blog will be to track planetary extreme, or record temperatures related to climate change. Any reports I see of ETs will be listed below the main topic of the day. I’ll refer to extreme or record temperatures as ETs (not extraterrestrials).😜
Here is a new feature for this blog, which I will add daily. This is the latest inciteful Green News Report from my friends Desi Doyen and Brad Friedman at Progressive Voices. Hit ‘More info,’ listen, then hit return to see my daily topics:
Green News Report with Brad Friedman & Desi Doyen
Episode: 11/5/2026 — More info…
Main Topic: U.S. October 2026 Record Scoreboard and Climatological Review
Dear Diary. It’s time for our monthly climatological review. Here on this site, we usually present monthly summaries near the 8th of each month, and each is available by clicking the link below:
https://guyonclimate.com/category/record-scoreboard-climatological-reviews
I’m repeating this mantra every month:
October 2026 got ranked by the National Center for Environmental Information for the lower 48 states as the 4th warmest October on record or 129th coolest since records began being kept in 1895 at 4.62°F above the 1901-2000 average.
The above data was from:
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag/national/rankings
Brief summary for October 2026: Record heat occurred across most sections of the country, mostly during the first three weeks of the month. There was sporadic record chill, mainly from newer stations. It was hot enough to log 25 reports of all-time record heat, which is an aberration for any October.
You can check out record totals for yourself on my NCEI record archives:
NCEI Record Count Archive – Guy On Climate
Here are my two U.S. Daily Record Scoreboards updated through 9/08/2026 (data compiled from the following NCEI site):
https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datatools/records
I’m also keeping tabs on record report totals to verify a scientific study I helped to complete in the decade of the 2000s. We’ll eventually see how skewed ratios of record warm to cold reports get by the year 2100, which the study mentions as 50-1 for DHMX vs. DLMN:
DHMX= Daily High Max Reports. DLMN= Daily Low Min Reports. DHMN= Daily High Min Reports. DLMX=Daily Low Max Reports.
Boldly highlighted red, blue, or purple colored months, such as December 2023 and June 2021, that have ratios of >10 to 1 daily or <1 to 10 of daily warm to low records are either historically hot or cold, most of which have made news. NCEI rankings are for the lower 48 states with the warmest ranking since 1895 of average temperatures being 132 and 1 being the coldest as of 2026. Blue colors represent cold months and red warm. Those months and years with counts close to a 1 to 1 ratio of highs to lows are colored black. All-time record hottest or coldest months and years are boldly colored in purple. NCDC rankings have been color coded (under tabs in each file) such that values of 55 to 75 are black representing neutral months or years (+ or – 10 from the average ranking of 64).
Totals are record reports for the entire United States including all territories minus those from Alaska. I’ve subtracted those from Alaska to get a better representation of what has occurred across the lower 48 states in association with lower 48 state rankings.
October 2026 had approximately a 19 to 1 ratio of record DHMX to DLMN individual record counts, but the color I used for that month was purple on the top chart because the month was the warmest September in recorded history.
October 2026 had approximately a 16 to 1 ratio of record DHMN to DLMX individual record counts, but the color I used for that month was purple on the bottom chart because the month was the warmest August in recorded history
Due to climate change, we are seeing fewer blue colors on these Record Scoreboards with time…and now more purple colors.
The average temperature lower 48 state ranking for October 2026 was 129 (4th warmest on record), which was colored red since it was well above average. We are seeing fewer blue colors on my charts, and October 2026 was yet another anomalously hot month.
November 2026 has gotten off to warm start except in the Southwest. Well above average warmth will persist across the lower 48 of states except in the far West and eastern third of the country through the middle of the month, which should make the month anomalously warm for lower 48 state averages. Overall, November should be above average and possibly could make the top ten list of warmest Novembers on record.
Interestingly, here is what we see as far as overall yearly ratios go for the 2020s so far. Warmth is key here. This year really stands out:
We now have 6 out of 10 full years’ worth of data for the 2020s. Interestingly, 2024 stands out as the second warmest year, which was also the year with a strong El Niño. We are now seeing the warmest year, so far during 2026, which will get pegged as another year with a strong El Niño.
Here is much more detailed climatology for September 2026 as complied by NOAA:
Monitoring U.S. Temperature and Precipitation in October 2026
Widespread October warmth with wet conditions across the Southwest
Courtesy of Canva.com
Key Takeaways:
- Warm October: The contiguous U.S. (CONUS) recorded its fourth-warmest October in the 132-year record.
- Record nighttime warmth: For the fourth consecutive month (July–October 2026), the CONUS average nighttime minimum temperature set a new monthly record (1895–2026).
- Southwest tied its fourth-wettest October: The Southwest climate region averaged 2.68 inches of precipitation, 233% of its average October total.
- Hurricane Isaias makes landfall: Isaias became the latest first hurricane to form in the Atlantic basin during the satellite era (since 1966), making landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane and bringing strong winds and heavy rainfall across the Southeast.
- Drought improvement: According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, CONUS drought coverage fell from 59% on September 29 to 44% on November 3, its lowest level since January 2026.
Other Highlights:
Temperature
The average temperature for the CONUS in October was 58.7°F, 4.6°F above the 20th-century average, ranking as the fourth-warmest October in the 132-year record. October marked the 21st consecutive month (February 2025–October 2026) with CONUS temperatures above the 20th-century average.
Above-average temperatures spanned the entire CONUS during October, with all 48 states recording average temperatures above their 20th-century baselines. Thirty states—extending from Oregon to North Carolina and Texas to Minnesota—experienced much-above-average October temperatures.
Nighttime minimum temperatures were especially notable, averaging 46.3°F, 4.9°F above the 20th-century average, and surpassing the previous October record, set in 1947, by 0.1°F. October marked the fourth consecutive month (July–October 2026) in which CONUS average nighttime minimum temperatures set a new monthly record.
Alaska’s average temperature was 30.4°F, 4.9°F above the 1925–2000 average, ranking in the warmest third of the 102-year record. While temperatures across southeastern Alaska and the Panhandle were near average, western portions of the state and the Aleutians experienced above- to much-above-average conditions.
Hawaiʻi’s average temperature was 69.0°F, 0.7°F above the 1991–2020 average, ranking in the warmest third of the 36-year record. While average daytime maximum temperatures were slightly below average, average nighttime minimum temperatures were 1.8°F above average, tying the record for the warmest October minimum temperature in the 36-year record.
Precipitation
Total precipitation averaged across the CONUS in October was 2.35 inches, 0.19 inch above the 20th-century average, ranking in the middle third of the 132-year record.
Much-above-average precipitation was widespread across southern California and much of the Southwest and Great Basin, extending into parts of the central and northern Rockies. Utah, Colorado, Arizona and Nevada each ranked among their 10 wettest Octobers on record. Portions of the central and southern Plains also experienced above-average precipitation, while rainfall associated with Hurricane Isaias contributed to above-average totals across parts of the Southeast. In contrast, northern California and the Pacific Northwest received below-average precipitation, along with portions of the northern Plains, Mississippi Valley, Midwest and Northeast.
Alaska’s average precipitation was 5.06 inches in October, 0.67 inch above the 1925–2000 average, ranking in the wettest third of the 102-year record. Above-average precipitation occurred across portions of the Northwest, southern mainland and southeast Interior, while the Aleutians, western Alaska Peninsula and Panhandle received below-average precipitation.
Hawaiʻi received 8.65 inches of precipitation in October, 3.53 inches above the 1991–2020 average, ranking as the third-wettest October in the 36-year record. Heavy rainfall associated with the southern passage of Hurricane Nolo contributed to the above-average totals. With statewide precipitation above average for the ninth consecutive month, year-to-date precipitation through October reached 95.31 inches, 46.23 inches above the 1991–2020 average, marking the wettest January–October on record.
Drought
According to the November 3 U.S. Drought Monitor, about 44% of the CONUS was in drought, down about 15 percentage points from the end of September and the lowest CONUS drought coverage since January 27.
Drought persisted across much of the Pacific Northwest and Great Basin, parts of the central Rockies and northern Plains, the Upper Midwest, Mid-Atlantic, far Northeast and Puerto Rico. Drought expanded or increased in intensity across portions of the Lower and Middle Mississippi valleys and the Lower Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Drought conditions improved across much of the Southwest and southern Rockies, portions of the central and southern Plains and Southeast.
Monthly Outlook
Above-average temperatures are favored across much of the CONUS and Alaska during November, except for parts of the Southwest and southern Plains. The highest probabilities (exceeding 50%) are forecast across much of the northern tier. Above-average precipitation is favored across much of the West, Plains, South and Southeast, while below-average precipitation is favored across portions of the northern Rockies, Great Lakes and western Alaska. Visit the Climate Prediction Center’s Official 30-Day Forecasts for more details.
Drought is expected to persist across parts of the Northwest, northern Rockies and Plains, northern Great Lakes, the eastern Carolinas and far Northeast, while improvement is expected across parts of the Southwest and much of the southern Plains, Lower Mississippi and Tennessee valleys. Visit the U.S. Monthly Drought Outlook for more details.
Significant wildland fire potential for November is above normal across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visit the National Interagency Fire Center’s One-Month Wildland Fire Outlook for more details.
For more detailed climate information, check out our comprehensive October 2026 U.S. Climate Report scheduled for release on November 13, 2026. For additional information on the statistics provided here, visit the Climate at a Glance and National Maps webpages.
Published
November 9, 2026
Here are some “ETs” recorded from around the U.S. the last couple of days, their consequences, and some extreme temperature outlooks, as well as any extreme precipitation reports:
Here is More Climate News from Friday:
(As usual, this will be a fluid post in which more information gets added during the day as it crosses my radar, crediting all who have put it on-line. Items will be archived on this site for posterity. In most instances click on the pictures of each tweet to see each article. The most noteworthy items will be listed first.)