Looking Wetter Great Plains Ahead
09/07/2026, 4:33 pm EDT
Climate Impact Company Gas/Power Report
Issued: Tuesday September 8, 2026
Highlight: Some preliminary comments on U.S. and Europe Selected City Winter HDD Forecasts.
Discussion: The Climate Impact Company U.S. Selected Cities HDD forecast totals for DEC/JAN/FEB 2026-27 indicate the top 5 warmest cities are Washington, DC, New York City, Charleston, SC, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati (Table 1). Each location is forecast to receive about 85 to 88 percent of 30-year normal HDD during meteorological winter. The coldest 5 locations are Phoenix, Burbank, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento. Phoenix is quite cool at 107% of 30-year normal HDD while the other 4 locations are near the 30-year normal. Nationally, the U.S. is forecast to observe 92.3% of the 30-year normal HDD.
| Warmest | %NML 30-Year HDD | Coolest | %Normal 30-Year HDD |
| Washington, DC | 85.5 | Phoenix | 107.6 |
| New York City | 87.3 | Burbank | 101.3 |
| Charleston, SC | 88.3 | Las Vegas | 100.3 |
| Philadelphia | 88.6 | Salt Lake City | 99.7 |
| Cincinnati | 88.7 | Sacramento | 99.1 |
Table 1: The Climate Impact Company selected cities forecast of HDD for meteorological winter 2026-27 as a percentage of the 30-year normal.
Western Europe observes warmer than normal winter season. A consensus of HDD forecasts for the NOV-MAR cold season reveals that Western Europe is warmer than the 10-year normal for November through January, near the 10-year normal in February, and near the 30-year normal in March (Fig. 1).
Fig. 1: The Climate Impact Company consensus HDD forecast for Western Europe cities for the 2026-27 cold season.