Longer, More Intense Fire Weather Seasons

An analysis of 476 weather stations from 1973 to 2023 shows that fire weather seasons are lengthening and intensifying across the contiguous United States, with the most significant increases occurring in the West. While the East has seen more modest increases, both regions are experiencing a notable rise in fire weather days during the spring. The Southwest has seen the most dramatic growth, with some areas experiencing fire weather twice as often as they did 50 years ago.

• Fire weather days have increased significantly across the U.S. West since the early 1970s, particularly in the Southwest. Some regions in Southern California, New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona have seen an increase of approximately two months of fire weather compared to 50 years ago, with some areas experiencing these conditions twice as often as in the early 1970s.
• The increase in fire weather is most pronounced during the spring and summer in the West. Specifically, parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado have seen about a month's increase in fire weather days during spring, while Southern California, Utah, and Arizona have seen about three additional weeks during summer.
• Trends in the East show more modest increases in fire weather days, with approximately 30% of eastern climate divisions showing no change or a decrease. However, some areas have seen impactful growth: northern New Jersey and coastal New York have added at least 10 annual fire weather days, and the northern Piedmont area in North Carolina has seen nearly two additional weeks.
• Spring is the fastest-growing season for fire weather across most of the East and West, aligning with general spring warming trends. The Southwest is also experiencing a boost in fire weather during the summer.
• A decline in the frequency of fire weather days has been observed in parts of North Dakota and South Dakota, which is attributed to a slight cooling of spring temperatures in that region.

APA

Climate Central (2024). Longer, More Intense Fire Weather Seasons. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/longer-more-intense-fire-weather-seasons

Chicago

Climate Central. Longer, More Intense Fire Weather Seasons. 2024. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/longer-more-intense-fire-weather-seasons.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Longer, More Intense Fire Weather Seasons |date=15 May 2024 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/longer-more-intense-fire-weather-seasons |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2024longer, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Longer, More Intense Fire Weather Seasons}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/longer-more-intense-fire-weather-seasons}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }