Oregon, Colorado and Texas Lists Show Recent Decembers Near Record Heat

Using federal climate data, the rankings show recent Decembers climbing into top spots, underscoring a clear warming trend.

Overview

Stacker used National Centers for Environmental Information records to rank each state’s hottest Decembers since 1895 by average monthly temperature, with entries also listing monthly highs, lows and precipitation.
Oregon’s top December remains 1917 at 39.6°F, while 2023 ranks No. 6 at 37.3°F and 2024 ranks No. 7 at 36.6°F.
Colorado’s warmest December is still 1980 at 34.8°F, with 2024 at No. 3 (32.0°F), 2021 at No. 2 (32.4°F) and 2023 at No. 10 (30.3°F).
Texas records December 2021 as No. 1 at 59.1°F, with 2024 at No. 2 (54.2°F) and 2023 at No. 7 (51.8°F).
The state lists, published Dec. 4–5, 2025 and updated through December 2024, are presented in the context of NOAA-documented warming of about 0.14°F per decade and recent extreme heat benchmarks.