Vermont Climate
Top 5 Cities: Burlington, Essex, South Burlington, Colchester, and Rutland
This month in numbers
March 2026 in Vermont saw an average temperature of 0.28°C, a significant 2.6°C warmer than the 1961–1990 baseline, ranking as the 11th warmest March in 77 years of records. Maximum temperatures for the month were particularly notable, at 6.33°C, an anomaly of +2.9°C, making it the 9th warmest March for maximum temperatures on record. Globally, April 2026 recorded a land temperature anomaly of +1.1°C, ranking as the 2nd warmest April in 86 years.
What changed
Looking at the broader picture, the January–March 2026 period in Vermont experienced an average temperature of -5.83°C, which is 0.9°C above the 1961–1990 baseline, ranking as the 28th warmest such period on record. Precipitation for this three-month window was 56.05 mm, a deficit of 15.1 mm compared to the baseline, placing it as the 62nd driest January–March period in 77 years. Vermont's 1-month anomaly for March was 0.09°C warmer than its NOAA Northeast US climate region average.
What’s driving change?
The warmer temperatures in Vermont during March, and the overall milder start to the year, can be partly attributed to , with winters warming faster at higher latitudes. The current ENSO state is Neutral, with an anomaly of +0.11°C for February-April 2026. However, forecasts indicate a strong likelihood of an El Niño developing in the coming months, with a 61% chance for May-July and a 79% chance for June-August. This shift could bring warmer and drier conditions to the region. Vermont has also experienced an unusual concentration of extreme weather events recently, with two drought events and one flood event logged in the past 12 months, both representing 100% of their respective annual totals. These drought conditions, particularly in eastern Vermont, have been a concern, though there was a trend towards improvement by the end of March due to snowmelt and intermittent rainfall. There were also reports of ice jam flooding in parts of Vermont's Northeast Kingdom in early March due to rising temperatures causing ice melt. For more details on active extreme weather events, visit Extreme Weather tracker.
Sources:
Generated by Gemini from climate data and web sources
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Data Sources
Data Sources for Vermont
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 Vermont changing?
Vermont 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 Vermont come from?
Climate data for Vermont 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 Vermont climate data cover?
The Vermont climate profile covers Burlington, Essex, South Burlington, Colchester and surrounding areas. Vermont climate data from NOAA Climate at a Glance
How often is the Vermont climate update refreshed?
The Vermont 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.