Check past, present, and projected future climate conditions related to temperature or precipitation for any county in the United States. View graphs or maps to compare conditions observed in the recent past (1961-1990) with conditions projected in future decades.
Where do these data come from?
Data in Climate Explorer are from a worldwide climate modeling experiment called CMIP5 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5). In this experiment, climate modelers around the world programmed their models to simulate past temperature and precipitation (based upon observed atmospheric conditions) and to project changes in our atmosphere will affect future climate.
Future projections are based on two scenarios of how humans might change the atmosphere over this century. In one possible future, humans severely limit the amount of heat-trapping gas they put into the air. In another potential future, humans continue increasing the amount of heat-trapping emissions they release. The scenarios are called Representative Concentration Pathways or RCPs. The Climate Explorer shows projections for RCP4.5 as "lower emissions" and RCP8.5 as "higher emissions."
To make the projections useful at a county scale, coarse results (large pixels) from the global climate models were statistically downscaled using the Localized Constructed Analogs (LOCA) technique.
Learn more about the data in Climate Explorer on the site's About page.
What can I do with these data?
Explore variables such as the number of days when afternoon temperatures climb above 100°F in your county. Check how that number has changed from late last century to the present, and how it is projected to change in the coming decades.
If you're into winter sports like snow skiing or ice fishing, you might check how many days per year temperatures at your favorite winter recreation location remained below 32°F in the past, and then check how many similar days are projected to occur in the future.
Based on projected trends, you may recognize a need for preparation such as establishing cooling centers. You might also foresee new recreational or economic opportunities for the locations you explore.
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Enter the name of a city or county in the search field on the Climate Explorer's home page.
Select one of the cards to explore past, present, or future projected climate in maps or graphs.
Click to see more detail
