March Was the Most Abnormally Hot Month in 132 Years of U.S. Records

March 2026 was the hottest March on record for the continental United States and the most abnormally hot month of any kind in 132 years of records, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported by CBS News and NBC News on Thursday.

The month’s average temperature was 50.85 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 9.35 degrees above the 20th-century March normal, both outlets reported. The previous mark for departure from normal was 8.9 degrees, set in March 2012.

NBC News reported that six of the 10 most abnormally hot months on record have occurred in the past decade, and that February 2026, at 6.57 degrees above normal, ranked tenth. The 12 months from April 2025 through March 2026 were the warmest such period on record for the continental U.S. January through March was also the driest first quarter on record for the contiguous states, following what NBC News attributed to Climate Central’s Shel Winkley as the worst snow year and the hottest winter on record.

More than 19,800 daily heat records fell during the month, and more than 2,000 locations set monthly heat records, which are harder to break, according to meteorologist Guy Walton’s analysis of NOAA data cited by both outlets. On March 20 and 21, about a third of the country experienced heat that Climate Central says would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change, CBS News and NBC News reported.

“What we experienced in March across the United States was unprecedented,” Shel Winkley of Climate Central said, according to CBS News. Jeff Masters of Yale Climate Connections said: “Climate change is kicking our butts.” The temperature figures themselves come from NOAA’s federal record.

The outlook adds to the concern. NOAA and the European Union’s Copernicus service forecast a strong El Niño forming within months and intensifying into winter, possibly reaching “super” strength, CBS News reported. Meteorologist Victor Gensini said such an event could push global temperatures to records in late 2026 and into 2027, with 2024 the current record year, according to both outlets. NBC News added that a December 2025 study in Nature Communications found super El Niños can shift climate patterns for years, and that research suggests global warming may be making El Niños stronger, though scientists say that is not yet a consensus.