Climate Zone Map

United States climate zones

The most common zone is Cfa, humid subtropical, covering 23% of the land in 1991 to 2020.

World map of Köppen-Geiger climate zones, 1991 to 2020Tap or scroll to load the interactive map

Period shown on the map
80%

Köppen-Geiger classes are based on 30-year averages of temperature and rain, not on the weather on any one day.

Key

A: Tropical

  • Af Tropical rainforest
  • Am Tropical monsoon
  • Aw Tropical savannah

B: Arid

  • BWh Hot desert
  • BWk Cold desert
  • BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
  • BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)

C: Temperate

  • Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean
  • Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean
  • Csc Cold-summer Mediterranean
  • Cwa Humid subtropical with dry winter
  • Cwb Subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cwc Cold subtropical highland (dry winter)
  • Cfa Humid subtropical
  • Cfb Temperate oceanic
  • Cfc Subpolar oceanic

D: Cold (continental)

  • Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer
  • Dsc Subarctic with dry summer
  • Dsd Subarctic with dry summer and very cold winter
  • Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter
  • Dwc Subarctic with dry winter
  • Dwd Subarctic with dry winter and very cold winter
  • Dfa Hot-summer humid continental
  • Dfb Warm-summer humid continental
  • Dfc Subarctic (boreal)
  • Dfd Subarctic with very cold winter

E: Polar

  • ET Tundra
  • EF Ice cap (frost)

How to read the map. Each colour is a Köppen-Geiger climate class. The first letter is the major group (A tropical, B arid, C temperate, D cold, E polar); the other letters say how dry it is and how warm or cold. Tap anywhere to see the class under that spot in 1901 to 1930, 1991 to 2020 and, under three emissions scenarios, 2071 to 2099. The codes and names are always given in words, because colour alone is hard to tell apart for some people.

Climate zones in United States, 1991 to 2020

Share of United States's classified land in each Köppen-Geiger zone in 1991 to 2020. Zones under 0.05% are left out. The 16,025,671 map cells used cover 100% of the country's outline (about 9,424,180 km²).

Cfa Humid subtropical23%
BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)17%
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental14%
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental14%
Dfc Subarctic (boreal)11%
Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer3.1%
ET Tundra2.9%
BWh Hot desert2.5%
Dsc Subarctic with dry summer2.5%
Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean2.3%
BWk Cold desert2.1%
BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)1.7%
Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean1.5%
Cfb Temperate oceanic0.6%
Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter0.4%
Dwc Subarctic with dry winter0.4%
Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer0.3%
Am Tropical monsoon0.2%
Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter0.2%
Af Tropical rainforest0.1%
Aw Tropical savannah0.1%
Cfc Subpolar oceanic0.1%
EF Ice cap (frost)0.1%

By major group: D (cold (continental)) 46%, C (temperate) 27%, B (arid) 24%, E (polar) 2.9%, A (tropical) 0.4%.

United States has no single dominant climate. The biggest zone, Cfa (humid subtropical), covers only 23% of its classified land in 1991 to 2020, followed by BSk (17%) and Dfb (14%). 13 zones each cover 1% or more of it. In plain terms, humid subtropical means hot, humid summers and mild winters, with rain all year. Under the middle-of-the-road scenario (SSP2-4.5), 34% of its land is projected to be in a different zone by 2071 to 2099, with the biggest gain going to Cfa (humid subtropical).

How United States's zones have changed and may change

Each row compares a map with 1991 to 2020. "Share in a different zone" is the share of the country's area whose class is different from 1991 to 2020. Future rows are model projections under an emissions scenario, not forecasts.

MapShare in a different zoneDifferent major groupBiggest gainBiggest loss
1901 to 1930 (past)19%7.1%Dfa +2.2 percentage pointsDfb -3.3 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP1-2.6 (low emissions)20%7.4%Cfa +3.1 percentage pointsDfb -3.4 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5 (middle of the road)34%14%Cfa +5.7 percentage pointsDfb -4.6 percentage points
2071 to 2099, SSP5-8.5 (high emissions)50%23%Cfa +9.9 percentage pointsDfc -6.8 percentage points

For the past row, the comparison runs the other way: the 1901 to 1930 map against 1991 to 2020.

Zone shares by map

Zone1901 to 19301991 to 2020SSP1-2.6 (2071 to 2099)SSP2-4.5 (2071 to 2099)SSP5-8.5 (2071 to 2099)
Cfa Humid subtropical22%23%26%29%33%
BSk Cold semi-arid (steppe)17%17%17%17%17%
Dfb Warm-summer humid continental17%14%11%9.5%8.7%
Dfa Hot-summer humid continental11%14%16%16%12%
Dfc Subarctic (boreal)11%11%11%8.2%4.6%
Dsb Warm-summer continental with dry summer3.3%3.1%2.5%2.1%1.7%
ET Tundra4.8%2.9%1.5%1%0.5%
BWh Hot desert1.8%2.5%3%3.6%4.5%
Dsc Subarctic with dry summer2.8%2.5%1.6%1.4%1.4%
Csb Warm-summer Mediterranean2.2%2.3%2.2%1.8%1%
BWk Cold desert1.9%2.1%1.8%2%1.9%
BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)1.1%1.7%2.7%3.4%5.4%
Csa Hot-summer Mediterranean1.2%1.5%2.3%3.2%4.7%
Cfb Temperate oceanic0.5%0.6%0.7%0.9%1.4%
Dwa Hot-summer continental with dry winter1%0.4%0.2%--
Dwc Subarctic with dry winter0.1%0.4%0.1%0.1%-
Dsa Hot-summer continental with dry summer0.3%0.3%0.5%0.5%0.8%
Am Tropical monsoon0.1%0.2%0.3%0.4%0.4%
Dwb Warm-summer continental with dry winter0.3%0.2%-0.1%0.1%
Aw Tropical savannah0.2%0.1%0.2%0.2%0.3%
EF Ice cap (frost)0.1%0.1%---
Af Tropical rainforest-0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%
Cfc Subpolar oceanic-0.1%0.1%0.1%0.1%

Percentages are of the country's classified land in each map. A dash means under 0.05%.

Cities in United States and their climate zones

City1991 to 20202071 to 2099, SSP2-4.5
New York CityCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
Los AngelesCsa Hot-summer MediterraneanBSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
BrooklynCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
ChicagoDfa Hot-summer humid continentalDfa Hot-summer humid continental
QueensCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
HoustonCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
PhoenixBWh Hot desertBWh Hot desert
PhiladelphiaCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
San AntonioCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
ManhattanCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
San DiegoBSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)BSh Hot semi-arid (steppe)
The BronxCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
DallasCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
JacksonvilleCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
Fort WorthCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
San JoseCsb Warm-summer MediterraneanCsa Hot-summer Mediterranean
AustinCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
ColumbusDfa Hot-summer humid continentalCfa Humid subtropical
CharlotteCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
IndianapolisDfa Hot-summer humid continentalCfa Humid subtropical
San FranciscoCsb Warm-summer MediterraneanCsb Warm-summer Mediterranean
SeattleCsb Warm-summer MediterraneanCsa Hot-summer Mediterranean
DenverDfa Hot-summer humid continentalCfa Humid subtropical
WashingtonCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
NashvilleCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
Oklahoma CityCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
El PasoBWh Hot desertBWh Hot desert
BostonDfa Hot-summer humid continentalCfa Humid subtropical
PortlandCsb Warm-summer MediterraneanCsa Hot-summer Mediterranean
DetroitDfa Hot-summer humid continentalCfa Humid subtropical
Las VegasBWh Hot desertBWh Hot desert
New South MemphisCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
MemphisCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical
LouisvilleCfa Humid subtropicalCfa Humid subtropical

Zones found in United States

All countries · All climate zones

Data: Beck et al. (2023), CC BY 4.0; country outlines from Natural Earth. In 1901 to 1930 the most common zone was Cfa. See data sources and licences.

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