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Has the climate in Rockville changed?

Rockville has warmed about 0.9°F between 1971 and 2006.

About 0.3°F per decade, measured from Rockville's official daily weather records, 1971–2006. Individual years still bounce around — some recent ones came in cool — but the long-term line has clearly risen.

Is that a lot? Rockville's climate has warmed more slowly than most other cities in United States.

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
33 fewer nights
1970s
115 / yr
Recent
82 / yr
Milder winters — fewer frosts
Average temperature
+1.1°F
1970s
54.1°F
Recent
55.2°F
A steady upward drift
Hot days above 90°F
3 fewer days
1970s
24 / yr
Recent
21 / yr
Slightly fewer hot days
Rainy days
10 fewer days
1970s
122 / yr
Recent
112 / yr
Drier on average

Rockville's temperature, year by year

Average temperature for each year from 1971 to 2006.

50°52°54°56°58°60°62°1971: 54.5°F1972: 54.2°F1973: 56.2°F1974: 55.1°F1975: 55.2°F1976: 52.5°F1977: 54.7°F1978: 52.9°F1979: 52.4°F1980: 53.5°F1981: 53.8°F1982: 53.8°F1984: 60.8°F1985: 54.2°F1986: 55.8°F1987: 58.7°F1988: 54.8°F1989: 54.5°F1990: 57.0°F1991: 57.2°F1992: 54.0°F1993: 54.9°F1994: 55.2°F1995: 55.0°F1996: 53.5°F1997: 55.2°F1998: 57.8°F1999: 56.5°F2000: 54.7°F2001: 56.0°F2002: 56.7°F2003: 53.3°F2004: 51.5°F2005: 54.3°F2006: 57.3°Flong-term trend19711980199020002006
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 11 fewer freezing nights a year 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: +1.6°F+1.6JFebruary: +1.0°F+1.0FMarch: +0.2°F+0.2MApril: +1.0°F+1.0AMay: +1.2°F+1.2MJune: +1.4°F+1.4JJuly: +2.0°F+2.0JAugust: +2.1°F+2.1ASeptember: +1.7°F+1.7SOctober: +1.3°F+1.3ONovember: +0.9°F+0.9NDecember: +1.1°F+1.1D

August has warmed the most — about 2.1°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 Rockville 1 NE (NOAA GHCN station USC00187705), about 2 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →