NOAA releases summer forecast: What to expect in Central Texas
Meteorological summer begins June 1 and we're getting a good idea that summer won't be anything like last year.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Meteorological summer begins June 1 and we're getting a good idea that summer won't be anything like last year for Central Texas.
Last summer had a shortage of heat and an abundance of rain, this year could be the opposite.
Central Texas summer forecast
NOAA and the Climate Prediction Center expect that summer will be even hotter than normal. Central Texas usually has 29 triple digit days a year with the majority coming in August. This year we could be in for much more.
The rainfall outlook is generally not great for Central Texas considering the extreme drought some of us are dealing with, but it could be worse.
Our eastern counties and areas east of I-35 in the Austin Metro counties are expecting near normal precipitation, whereas areas west of I-35 and into the Hill Country have a forecast that leans drier than normal.
National forecast
The outlook for the rest of the United States is also hot. Only a small portion of the northern tier states and the Pacific Northwest have a near-normal summer temperature forecast.
Nationally, the rainfall forecast this summer is a mixed bag with wetter than normal weather in the southeast and eastern states along with a little bit of Arizona into New Mexico expecting a wetter monsoon season. Drier than normal weather will persist across most of the middle of the country and the northwest. Little relief expected for most dealing with worsening drought in the southwestern states.
How will summer start? The forecast for June
The forecast for June for Central Texas is very similar to what we're expecting for summer as a whole, but near normal rainfall is a good thing considering June is typically our third wettest month of the year in Central Texas.
While we may end up with near normal rainfall, there will be no escaping the heat with warmer than normal temperatures expected for another month.
What is normal for June?
June is normally wet to start, but mostly dry to finish with average highs climbing from the low to middle 90s with lows mostly in the 70s.
June 1 also marks the beginning of Atlantic Hurricane Season. Stay with the First Warning Weather Team as we take you into summer.