New Hampshire Climate
Top 5 Cities: Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover, and Rochester
This month in numbers
April 2026 in New Hampshire saw an average temperature of 6.78°C, an anomaly of +1.8°C above the 1961–1990 baseline, ranking as the 11th warmest April in 77 years of records. Maximum temperatures were also notably high, ranking 14th warmest at 13.33°C, which is +2.2°C above average. Globally, April 2026 was the 2nd warmest April on record for land temperatures, with an anomaly of +1.1°C.
What changed
Looking at the three-month period from February to April 2026, New Hampshire experienced an average temperature of -0.16°C, an anomaly of +1.1°C, ranking as the 31st warmest such period on record. Precipitation for this three-month window was significantly below average at 63.42 mm, an anomaly of -20.5 mm, making it the 69th driest February-April period in 77 years. This dryness contributed to persistent drought conditions across the state, with 54% of New Hampshire under active drought as of May 19, 2026, and an additional 40% classified as abnormally dry. This regional dryness contrasts with the global picture, where global land temperatures for February-April 2026 ranked as the 2nd warmest on record.
What’s driving change?
The persistent drought conditions in New Hampshire are a significant concern, with the state experiencing its sixth driest January-March period on record. This dry start to the year has led to an elevated wildfire risk, and New Hampshire has seen an unusual concentration of four wildfire events between May 14 and May 21, representing 100% of the annual total for the past 12 months. Additionally, two drought events and one flood event have been logged in the past month, also representing 100% of their respective annual totals, indicating an unusual clustering of these extreme weather occurrences. More information on these events can be found at Extreme Weather tracker. The current ENSO state is Neutral, but forecasts indicate a strong likelihood of El Niño developing in the coming months, with an 82% chance for May-July and a 98% chance for August-October. Historically, El Niño phases tend to bring warmer winters to the Northeast USA, though there is no clear signal for precipitation. ENSO tracker.
Looking ahead
Seasonal outlooks suggest that drought conditions are predicted to continue through at least the end of July 2026, with significant statewide relief not expected in the near future.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for New Hampshire
Every figure on this page is sourced from official, openly published climate datasets. Anomalies are calculated against the 1961–1990 baseline (temperature) and 1991–2020 (rainfall, sunshine, frost) — see the Methodology & Sources page for the complete dataset list and update calendar.
FAQs
FAQs
How is the climate in New Hampshire changing?
New Hampshire is warming in line with the rest of the world. The page above shows the latest monthly temperature anomaly versus the 1961-1990 baseline, the long-term annual trend, and the region's rank in the historical record. The trend rate is shown as °C per decade in the headline panel; you can also see the warmest and coolest years on file.
Where does the climate data for New Hampshire come from?
Climate data for New Hampshire comes from NOAA Climate at a Glance (temperature and precipitation), refreshed every month, when the upstream temperature and rainfall data are refreshed.
What is the climate baseline used on this page?
Anomalies on this page are calculated against the 1961-1990 climatological baseline, which is the standard reference period used by the Met Office, NOAA, IPCC and most national climate services. Some panels also show the source-native 1901-2000 (NOAA) or 1991-2020 (WMO) baselines for verification. See Methodology & Sources for the full reference.
Which areas does the New Hampshire climate data cover?
The New Hampshire climate profile covers Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover and surrounding areas. New Hampshire climate data from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the New Hampshire climate update refreshed?
The New Hampshire climate update is refreshed monthly, typically a few days after the previous month closes and the upstream provider (Met Office HadUK-Grid, NOAA Climate at a Glance, Copernicus ERA5 or the Global Carbon Project) publishes its update. See the Climate Rankings for cross-region comparisons.