Month axisThe twelve months, January to December, by first letter.
Temperature axisThe scale for the line, in degrees Fahrenheit.
Precipitation axisThe scale for the bars, in inches.
Temperature curveThe line joins the average temperature of each month.
Precipitation barsEach bar is one month's average precipitation: rain and melted snow.
Warmest monthThe highest point of the line. Here it is July.
Wettest monthThe tallest bar. Here it is January.
Dry seasonThe months with almost no rain. Here, June to September.
Temperature rangeThe gap between the coldest and warmest months. Here, 47.3 to 75.9 degrees.
Which biome is it? 7
Tropical rainforestWarm all year, with heavy rain in every month. Drawn from the normals for Hilo, Hawaii.
DesertHot summers and very little rain in any month. Drawn from the normals for Phoenix, Arizona.
TundraBelow freezing most of the year, with little rain or snow. Drawn from the normals for Utqiagvik, Alaska.
Temperate deciduous forestFour seasons, with rain or snow in every month. Drawn from the normals for Columbus, Ohio.
Temperate grasslandHot summers, cold winters and modest rain. Drawn from the normals for Dodge City, Kansas.
ChaparralMild, wet winters and dry summers. Drawn from the normals for Los Angeles, California.
Boreal forest (taiga)Long winters far below freezing and a short, mild summer. Drawn from the normals for Fairbanks, Alaska.
How this list was compiled: Checked on 2026-10-03. The numbers: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020, monthly normals by station, https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/normals-monthly/1991-2020/access/ (public domain); the eight files and all their monthly values are under chart. The biomes and their climates, in two sources: (2) NASA, Mission: Biomes, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/biome/ , and its Great Graph Match, https://science.nasa.gov/kids/earth/mission-biomes/graphindex/ , which calls these graphs climographs and sets the same task (match a city's graph to its biome): rainforest warm all year with the most rain; desert with the least rain; shrubland with hot dry summers and cool moist winters; grassland of the Great Plains; temperate deciduous forest of the eastern United States with four seasons; coniferous forest with long cold winters; tundra the coldest biome. (3) University of California Museum of Paleontology, The world's biomes, https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/ : tropical forest with even rain through the year; hot and dry desert; temperate grassland with rain in late spring and early summer; temperate forest with rain spread evenly; boreal forest (taiga) in Alaska; tundra with a brief cool summer. Where each station stands: (4) Wikipedia on each place (Hilo: tropical rainforest climate; Phoenix: in the Sonoran Desert; Los Angeles: dry summer and wet winter; Dodge City: on the Great Plains; Columbus: humid continental; Fairbanks: south of the tree line; Utqiagvik: tundra), on the climograph and on chaparral, a shrubland shaped by a Mediterranean climate; (5) Bonanza Creek LTER, University of Alaska Fairbanks, https://www.lter.uaf.edu/boreal-forest , and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=boreal.main : the boreal forest of interior Alaska. Licence: own work; the numbers are public-domain NOAA normals
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-03 by script from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals 1991-2020. Own work; no published graph was copied. Licence: own work
How it works
This climate diagram quiz starts on one large graph: tap its axes, its line, its bars and what they show. Then seven small graphs on equal scales each stand for a biome, and you say which.
Read the full guide
Reading one
A climate diagram, or climograph, shows the average year of one place. The line is the average temperature of each month, read on the left axis. The bars are the average precipitation of each month, read on the right axis.
Telling biomes apart
Look at how high the line sits, how far it rises and falls, and where the bars are tall. On the small graphs the dashed line is freezing, 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
Every graph is drawn from the 1991 to 2020 monthly normals of one weather station.
The large graph is Sacramento, California.
Questions and answers
How do you read a climate diagram?
Find the month along the bottom. Read the line against the temperature axis and the bar against the precipitation axis. The highest point of the line is the warmest month, and the tallest bar is the wettest month.
What is a climograph?
A climograph is another name for a climate diagram: one graph that shows a place's average temperature and average precipitation for each month of the year.
How can you tell a biome from its climate diagram?
Compare temperature and rain. A tropical rainforest is warm and wet all year. A desert has very short bars. Tundra stays below freezing most of the year. Chaparral has dry summers and wet winters.
Where do the numbers in these climate diagrams come from?
From the U.S. Climate Normals for 1991 to 2020, published by NOAA. The stations are Sacramento, Hilo, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Dodge City, Columbus, Fairbanks and Utqiagvik.