Drought Impact May Loosen with a Cool Summer Ahead
The weather forecast for June and the summer months of Jone, July and August have been released by the Climate Prediction Center, and for North Georgia the outlook isn’t too bad. For June, we have an equal chance of above or below normal temperatures and precipitation. For the rest of the country, there should be above normal temperatures in the desert southwest, and below normal temperatures in the midwest. Expect above normal rainfall in the upper Mississipi valley, and drier than normal conditions in the northwestern US.
The summer weather outlook through the end of August calls for below normal temperatures in a band from Iowa southeast to Florida, including all of Georgia. The forecast calls for warmer than normal temperatures in New England and the Southwest. Look for below normal rainfall in the Pacific Northwest, and above normal rainfall in upper New England, the lower Mississippi valley and Florida. The rest of the country should see near normal precipitation.
Even though there isn’t a prediction for beneficial rainfall to help limit Georgia’s drought, the below normal temperatures, if they happen, should help somewhat compared to last year’s record August temperatures. The latest drought outlook calls for improvement throughout the southeast, and is better than the previous outlook, which only called for some limited improvement.
Drought conditions worsened some last week due to the lack of rainfall in the area in the first ten days of May, but we’ve had almost two inches of rain this week (including a wet start to the AT&T Classic in Duluth) and there is another chance for more rain on Sunday and again next week. As a result, we should see some lessening in Georgia’s drought, which now encompasses 65% of the state at some level, including 16% in extreme drought conditions.
In April, the country was colder than normal on average than normal. Much below normal temperatures in the northwest part of the country contrasted with a warm month in the northeast. Georgia had its 50th coldest April in 114 years of measurement. We also had the 48th driest April statewide, although still near normal.
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