Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for March–May 2026. Dated June 2026.

Spring temperatures ranged from 2 °C (4 °F) below normal to 3 °C (5 °F) above normal. Spring precipitation ranged from near normal to over 200% of normal.

NOAA’s Regional Climate Services Program created these climate outlooks to inform the public about recent climate impacts within their respective regions. Each regional report contains easy-to-understand language, and anyone can access them through the U.S. Drought Portal.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for March–May 2026. Dated June 2026.

The Midwest had its seventh warmest spring on record. Kentucky and Missouri had their second warmest spring. Spring temperatures were above normal across most of the Midwest, with near-normal conditions in the far upper Midwest. Spring precipitation was near to above normal for much of the region, except the far southeast and far northwest.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for December 2025–February 2026. Dated March 2026.

Winter air temperatures ranged from 3 °C (5 °F) colder than normal to near normal for most areas. Winter precipitation ranged from 50% to 200% of normal, with high variability throughout winter. 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for December 2025–February 2026. Dated March 2026.

Winter temperatures ranged from above to below normal from west to east across the Midwest. This general west-to-east pattern persisted across all three winter months. The Midwest had its 7th driest winter (December to February) on record, with region wide precipitation just 61% of normal. 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for September–November 2025. Dated December 2025.

Fall air temperatures averaged out to be near or above normal. Fall was drier than normal for most areas. Dry conditions led to greater than average declines on all lakes from the start of September to the end of November. In the period of record (1900-present), Lake Michigan-Huron experienced its 8th largest decline and Lake Erie had its 13th largest decline in water levels for fall.

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Midwest Region for September–November 2025. Dated December 2025.

The Midwest had its 6th warmest fall on record, with average temperatures across the region ranging from near to slightly above normal in the east and up to 4°F above normal in the west. Fall precipitation for the Midwest totaled 6.65 inches, which was 2.41 inches below normal, or 73 percent of normal. 

Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook for the Great Lakes Region for June–August 2025. Dated September 2025.

Summer air temperature was up to 2°C (4°F) warmer than normal. Record warm June-July low temperatures were measured in 12 U.S. counties surrounding the Great Lakes. Summer precipitation ranged from 25% of normal to 200% of normal.