--- title: Weather Forecast: Warm Fall Temperatures Expected in U.S. description: The change of seasons is around the corner with the beginning of fall, but forecasters say the U.S. should expect more of the same weather canonical: https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-09-22T15:25:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T00:46:02.879Z article:section: Science og:title: Here’s What Forecasters Are Predicting for Fall Weather og:description: 2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record og:url: https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe83649a0e26a9c/6988a7240b72e3501c6eb167/fall-weather-forecast.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: fall weather forecast leaves og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s What Forecasters Are Predicting for Fall Weather twitter:description: 2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe83649a0e26a9c/6988a7240b72e3501c6eb167/fall-weather-forecast.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s What Forecasters Are Predicting for Fall Weather  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 22, 2016 3:25 PM UTC  Mike Kramer—Getty Images/EyeEm  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Sep 22, 2016 3:25 PM UTC The change of seasons might be right around the corner with the beginning of fall on Thursday, but forecasters say the U.S. should expect more of the same when it comes to the weather. Temperatures this fall will continue the months-long hot streak that scientists attribute to a combination of ordinary weather patterns and long-term climate change. National Weather Service [forecasts](http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long%5Frange/seasonal.php?lead=1) show above-average seasonal temperatures through December in nearly every part of the country. The Southeast, where temperatures are expected to be average, stands out as the one exception. Temperatures will be most abnormally warm in parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado. Precipitation levels will be around the seasonal average in most parts of the country with the exception of the South, according to the [forecast](http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/long%5Frange/lead01/off01%5Fprcp.gif). Alaska and Montana should expect above-average precipitation. Scientists have said they expect 2016 to be the [warmest year on record](http://time.com/4154331/warmest-year-2016-climate-change-el-nino/?iid=sr-link2), and a warm fall only further increases the likelihood of that occurring. (It’s worth noting that for scientific purposes meteorologists and climatologists [actually mark](https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/news/meteorological-versus-astronomical-summer%E2%80%94what%E2%80%99s-difference) the start of the season as the first day of September). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/"},"headline":"Here’s What Forecasters Are Predicting for Fall Weather","datePublished":"2016-09-22T15:25:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T00:46:02.879Z","description":"2016 will almost certainly be the warmest year on record","url":"https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/","keywords":["weather"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe83649a0e26a9c/6988a7240b72e3501c6eb167/fall-weather-forecast.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbbe83649a0e26a9c/6988a7240b72e3501c6eb167/fall-weather-forecast.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"fall weather forecast leaves","caption":"fall weather forecast leaves","creditText":"Mike Kramer—Getty Images/EyeEm","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/weather/","name":"weather"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4504131/weather-forecast-fall-climate-change/","name":"Here’s What Forecasters Are Predicting for Fall Weather"}}]}] ```