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Has the climate in Moorhead changed?

Moorhead has warmed about 3.3°F since 1971.

About 0.6°F per decade, measured from Moorhead'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? Moorhead'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
8 fewer nights
1970s
178 / yr
Recent
170 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+1.8°F
1970s
41.3°F
Recent
43.1°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
2 fewer days
1970s
15 / yr
Recent
13 / yr
Slightly fewer hot days
Rainy days
4 more days
1970s
101 / yr
Recent
105 / yr
Wetter on average

Moorhead's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2025.

36°38°40°42°44°46°48°1971: 40.7°F1972: 39.1°F1973: 42.1°F1974: 40.2°F1975: 41.1°F1976: 41.5°F1977: 41.8°F1978: 39.4°F1979: 38.2°F1980: 41.4°F1981: 43.0°F1982: 39.3°F1983: 42.1°F1984: 42.4°F1985: 39.1°F1986: 42.5°F1987: 46.4°F1988: 43.3°F1989: 39.9°F1990: 44.2°F1991: 43.6°F1992: 42.0°F1993: 40.4°F1994: 42.3°F1995: 41.3°F1996: 37.7°F1997: 40.7°F1998: 45.4°F1999: 44.4°F2000: 41.8°F2001: 43.3°F2002: 42.0°F2003: 42.2°F2004: 42.0°F2005: 43.8°F2006: 45.4°F2007: 43.3°F2008: 40.0°F2009: 40.3°F2010: 43.4°F2011: 43.1°F2012: 46.3°F2013: 40.4°F2014: 40.9°F2015: 45.6°F2016: 46.7°F2017: 44.2°F2018: 41.4°F2019: 39.5°F2020: 42.8°F2021: 45.4°F2022: 39.9°F2023: 45.0°F2024: 47.6°F2025: 43.7°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 5 fewer freezing nights a year and about 2 fewer 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.

-1.0°-0.5°0.0°+0.5°+1.0°+1.5°+2.0°+2.5°+3.0°+3.5°January: +2.4°F+2.4JFebruary: -0.7°F-0.7FMarch: +0.1°F+0.1MApril: -0.3°F-0.3AMay: -0.7°F-0.7MJune: +0.9°F+0.9JJuly: +0.1°F+0.1JAugust: -0.3°F-0.3ASeptember: +1.9°F+1.9SOctober: +0.1°F+0.1ONovember: +2.4°F+2.4NDecember: +3.1°F+3.1D

December has warmed the most — about 3.1°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 Fargo Hector Intl AP (NOAA GHCN station USW00014914), about 6 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →