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Climate Extremes: California
Brief
Tracking climate records and extreme weather events in California: temperature records, droughts, floods, official meteorological data. Not needed: general climate-change articles not tied to a specific place and date.
Description
California's climate pattern is increasingly defined by rapid swings between extreme dryness and intense precipitation rather than a steady, predictable cycle, with this year's weak snowpack pointing toward a harder-than-usual dry season ahead.
Record Heat
March 2026 broke the previous March heat record set in 2012 by at least half a degree Fahrenheit; more than 1,100 daily temperature records fell across 235 U.S. cities, with seventeen states recording their hottest March on record and at least 33 cities their hottest March ever.
Snowpack Crisis
A dry, record-warm March drove rapid, early snowmelt across California and Nevada. The April 1 statewide snow water equivalent was the lowest on record (since 1981) for Nevada and the second-lowest on record for California.
Drought and Wildfire
Between January and March 2026, the share of the U.S. landscape in the worst drought category rose from 2% to 15% of the country. Wildfires burned more than 1.6 million acres in the first quarter of the year — more than double the decade average for the same period.
Summer Outlook
Seasonal forecasts favor warmer-than-normal conditions for May–July 2026, with above-normal wildland fire potential projected for northern California in June–July.