NOAA and its partners have released the latest Regional Climate Impacts and Outlooks, which recap spring conditions and provide insight into what might be expected this summer.
Spring Temperature Recap
Above- to much-above-average temperatures were observed March through May from the West Coast to the Deep South, across the Southeast and into New England and the Great Lakes. Florida ranked second warmest for spring while New Mexico ranked fifth warmest and Louisiana sixth warmest. No state across the Lower 48 ranked below average for the season.
At 1.7°F above average, the spring average contiguous U.S. temperature was 52.6°F, and ranked in the warmest third of the record. Alaska’s average spring temperature was 27.5°F, 3.6°F above the long-term average, ranking in the state’s warmest third on record.
Summer Temperature Outlook
The July–September 2020 temperature outlook predicts likely above-normal temperatures across most of the contiguous United States and Alaska, with the exception being some areas near the Central Mississippi Valley, where equal chances of below-, near-, and above- normal temperatures are indicated. The largest probabilities of above-normal temperatures are found across the Southwest and New England.
Spring Precipitation Recap
Above-average spring precipitation was observed across parts of the Southwest and from Texas to the Great Lakes and into the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states. South Carolina ranked eighth wettest for the season. Despite a dry May, Alaska had a relatively wet March and April.
Below-average spring precipitation was observed across parts of the Pacific Coast, Northern Tier, central and southern Rockies, and in parts of the Northeast and Gulf Coast. Colorado and North Dakota both ranked ninth driest for the spring season.
Summer Precipitation Outlook
The summer precipitation outlook predicts above-normal precipitation for much of the eastern contiguous United States. This prediction includes parts of the eastern Great Plains and extends eastward across the Central and Lower Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions and southward to the entire Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida. Above-normal precipitation is also likely for the southern regions of Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands and the Alaska Panhandle.
Below-normal precipitation is favored for much of the Pacific Northwest, the Northern Rockies, extending southeastward into the Central Rockies, parts of the northern Great Basin, and northeast regions of the Four Corners region.
Impacts and Outlooks for Your Region
Get more details for your region in the June 2020 climate impacts and outlooks summaries:
- Alaska and Northwestern Canada Region
- Chesapeake Bay Region
- Northeast Region
- Great Lakes Region
- Gulf of Maine Region
- Midwest Region
- Missouri River Basin Region
- Pacific Region
- Southeast Region
- Southern Region
- Western Region
Creating These Quarterly Summaries
NOAA’s Regional Climate Services lead the production of these quarterly summaries of climate impacts and outlooks for various regions of the United States as well as parts of Canada along the border. This effort, which began in 2012, now includes as many as 11 unique regional products, all produced collaboratively with partner organizations.
You can access all of the Climate Impacts and Outlooks summaries as well as additional reports and assessments through the U.S. Drought Portal Reports web page at Drought.gov.
