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Monthly Climate Conditions - Interactive Map. Climate at a Glance: U.S. Mapping. Generate maps showing data for each of the 344 climate divisions in the U.S. Climate Divisional Database. Explore this Dataset
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The North American Climate Zones map shows the distribution of climate types across Canada, Mexico, and the United States based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification.
- Overview
- The tropical humid climate
- Dry climates
- Plant and animal life
- The Pacific coniferous forest
On the southeast coasts of the United States, the warm temperate zone extends to the Mississippi River and over the Gulf Coast; the zone is strongly influenced by the warm, moist tropical air mass that originates over the Gulf of Mexico. The long frost-free season exceeds 200 days. Tropical air spreads north in February and dominates the region until November, when polar continental air occasionally invades. Winters are mild, with January means of 40 to 54 °F (4 to 12 °C). July averages are tropical, with highs exceeding 80 °F (28 °C).
This warmth and the long growing season allow subtropical crops such as cotton and peanuts (groundnuts) to be grown. Rainfall is ample (40 to 60 inches [1,000 to 1,500 mm]) and benefits from the presence of the Colorado and Texas low-pressure systems and from thunderstorms that flare up on warm afternoons in the tropical maritime air. Because the landmass is intensely heated, frequent thunderstorms dot the landscape in this region, especially in early summer. Hurricanes are an annual hazard along the Gulf of Mexico and up the lower Mississippi valley.
Central America, with its tropical humid climate, has no real winter; even the coldest month averages above 64 °F (18 °C). With summers of 80 to 82 °F (27 to 28 °C), the mean annual temperature range is lower than the usual daily range, a characteristic which is markedly different from most of North America. Rainfall is ample and regular, with 45 t...
About one-third of North America, including the high Arctic latitudes, has a dry climate. Chief dry areas lie in the American Southwest, where a combination of the midlatitude high-pressure belt, the tropical continental air mass, and rain shadow effects behind the high Sierra Nevada has led to lack of rainfall. Summer winds blow from the continent...
North American vegetation communities and their associated fauna are closely allied to soil, as their habitats, too, reflect the powerful influences of climate. Forests dominate the humid regions and once covered about two-thirds of North America; grassland, scrub, desert vegetation, or tundra typify the dry third of the continent.
Offering one of the great spectacles of the continent, the Pacific coniferous forest consists of immense redwoods and firs forming vast cathedral-like groves, where the tall trunks rise hundreds of feet like great pillars to support a canopy of evergreen branches overhead. A long growing season, moderate temperatures, and a heavy, constant supply o...
An Interactive Map of Koppen-Geiger Climate Classification Areas in North America - Updated
This map shows the diverse climate zones in North America, based on the Köppen-Geiger climate classification system. Each group and zone is represented by a combination of letters. The main climate groups are tropical (A), dry (B), temperate (C), continental (D) and polar (E).
The maps show mean temperatures—the arithmetic average between the highest and lowest temperature in a 24-hour period—averaged together over the month for the previous three decades. Temperature - Maximum, 1991-2020 Monthly Average. Department: Data Snapshots.
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Generate maps showing data for each of the 344 climate divisions in the U.S. Climate Divisional Database. You can specify monthly or yearly values, ranks, or anomalies for temperature, precipitation, heating and cooling degree days, and drought indices.
