Spring,Early Summer Outlook:West,Plains Heat Builds,But Not As Much Into Northeast

Spring Preview:Expanding Heat For Many

Spring and early summer are showing trends in forecasts of both temperatures and precipitation across the U.S.,according to an April through June outlook issued by The Weather Now 24 and Atmospheric G2.

(MORE:How Average Temperatures Rise Through Spring)

Key Points

• The Southern Plains and Southwest are expected to have a hotter than usual spring and early summer,particularly the southern Rockies.
• That said an overall warm spring and early summer is expected over much of the country from the Northern Plains to the Mississippi Valley and Southeast.
• Parts of the Northeast and Northwest,however,may not see as much unusual warmth by spring and early summer standards.
• This outlook is an overall three-month trend. We will likely see periods that are warmer or colder in each respective region of the country when compared to what is shown in the map below.

Monthly Details

April

• The first full month of astronomical spring is expected to be hottest from Utah and Arizona to the lower Mississippi Valley. That includes Dallas,Denver,Houston and Phoenix.
• Parts of the Northeast,Great Lakes and Northwest may skew a little cooler than average. That includes Detroit,New York and Seattle.
• This somewhat cooler Northeast outlook is due to the orientation of a global pattern of rainfall and dry weather near the equator called the Madden-Julian oscillation that could force cooler air from Canada southward,according to Todd Crawford,Vice President of Meteorology at Atmospheric G2.

May-June

• You may notice that May's temperature map below has a similar overall shape as April's. Perhaps skewing a bit cooler than average in the Northeast,Great Lakes and Northwest,while hotter than usual in the Southwest,Plains and Southeast.
• But scroll down to the June map,and you'll notice some significant changes.
• First,most of the country is expected to be hotter than average in June.
• Compared to May,the most above-average heat is expected to expand northward into the upper Midwest,Northern Plains and northern Rockies,but not as much into the Southeast.