Most of continental U.S. will have above average summer temperatures
Above average temperatures are expected to hit the vast majority of the continental United States this summer, according to a recent report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The Climate Prediction Center of the NOAA just published its latest outlook for the continental U.S., Hawaii and Alaska. According to the outlook, the two regions within the lower 48 that have the greatest odds to get hit with the warmest temperatures (compared to historical averages) are the West and the Northeast.
The entire West Coast — Washington, Oregon, and California — has high odds to experience summer temperatures that are significantly above average, as does the far Northeast — Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts.
The heart of the Great Plains is most likely to receive near average or well below average summer averages, the report noted. This includes Nebraska and Kansas, and some parts of neighboring states like South Dakota and Oklahoma.
Most of US facing elevated odds of hotter than normal summer. https://t.co/Fd0ExMUhxW pic.twitter.com/kisSdT1eaZ
— NOAA Climate.gov (@NOAAClimate) May 23, 2016
El Niño and La Niña: No significant impact on U.S. summer temperatures
Neither El Niño nor La Niña should significantly impact summer temperatures across the U.S., the NOAA noted. The summer outlook is instead “more influenced by short and long-term ocean and atmospheric trends as well as mid-latitude sea surface temperatures in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.”
So despite the headlines that will likely be generated as the transition between El Niño and La Niña occurs, this should not impact the summer climate of the U.S. in a noteworthy way.
Alaska and Hawaii
Outside of the continental U.S., Alaska’s Aleutian Islands have the highest odds of experiencing a significantly hotter-than-average summer. The probability of above-average temperatures in the Aleutians is between 60-70 percent.
In Hawaii, above average temperatures are expected through the summer months of June, July and August but the NOAA did not make note of any expected extreme increases in temperatures on the islands.
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