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Has the climate in Independence changed?

Independence has warmed about 3.3°F since 1971.

About 0.6°F per decade, measured from Independence's official daily weather records, 1971–2025. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Independence's warming is broadly in line with other cities in United States — neither unusually fast nor unusually slow.

What has actually changed

Each card compares the 1970s (the first ten years of the record) with recent years (the last ten) — the same span the headline and the chart use.

Freezing nights
12 fewer nights
1970s
108 / yr
Recent
96 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+2.1°F
1970s
53.3°F
Recent
55.5°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
6 more days
1970s
18 / yr
Recent
24 / yr
More days of serious heat
Rainy days
6 more days
1970s
129 / yr
Recent
135 / yr
Wetter on average

Independence's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

50°52°54°56°58°1971: 54.6°F1972: 52.3°F1973: 54.5°F1974: 53.6°F1975: 55.0°F1976: 51.9°F1977: 52.5°F1978: 51.2°F1979: 51.5°F1980: 52.1°F1981: 52.5°F1982: 54.3°F1983: 53.5°F1984: 53.2°F1985: 53.7°F1986: 54.8°F1987: 55.3°F1988: 53.4°F1989: 53.2°F1990: 56.2°F1991: 56.3°F1992: 53.4°F1993: 53.8°F1994: 54.0°F1995: 53.5°F1996: 51.9°F1997: 52.5°F1998: 56.5°F1999: 55.1°F2000: 53.3°F2001: 55.0°F2002: 55.4°F2003: 53.1°F2004: 54.3°F2005: 55.0°F2006: 55.7°F2007: 56.3°F2008: 53.7°F2009: 53.7°F2010: 54.6°F2011: 55.7°F2012: 57.1°F2013: 54.0°F2014: 52.8°F2015: 55.2°F2016: 56.6°F2017: 56.1°F2018: 55.6°F2019: 56.2°F2020: 56.1°F2021: 56.2°F2022: 55.3°F2023: 56.6°F2024: 57.9°F2025: 55.3°Flong-term trend1971198019902000201020202025
a warmer-than-average year a cooler-than-average year

Each bar is one year. Most recent years sit above the older ones. Some recent years still came in cool — warming is a slope, not a straight climb.

In day-to-day terms, that long-term shift shows up as about 6 fewer freezing nights a year and about 4 more days above 90°F compared with the 1970s.

When in the year the change shows up

How much warmer each month is now than in the 1970s. Useful if you garden or care about a particular season — otherwise the headline above already has the answer.

0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°+2.5°January: +2.2°F+2.2JFebruary: +1.3°F+1.3FMarch: +0.5°F+0.5MApril: +1.6°F+1.6AMay: +1.2°F+1.2MJune: +1.0°F+1.0JJuly: +0.3°F+0.3JAugust: +1.0°F+1.0ASeptember: +1.2°F+1.2SOctober: +1.1°F+1.1ONovember: +0.3°F+0.3NDecember: +1.7°F+1.7D

January has warmed the most — about 2.2°F. The warming runs across the whole year, not just one season.

Methodology & sources

Temperature — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Cincinnati/northern Kentucky I (NOAA GHCN station USW00093814), about 16 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →