Summary:
- During May, the west coast was near average to warmer than average[1], while the middle of the country was cooler than average, and the eastern seaboard to New England was average to warmer than average.
- May continued the dry spring over most of the west with many locations seeing the driest May on record.
- The spatial extent of drought in the west is now over 96% in some category of drought and over 71% in severe to extreme drought. Additional areas in the PNW, northern Rockies, and West Texas are likely to see drought development further as the summer progresses.
- Extreme heat started off June with a bang but will likely cool to average through mid-month then elevate to moderate to extreme warmth later in the month. The only precipitation events appear to be small frontal passages in the extreme PNW, or some eastside thunderstorms, which no one wants to see right now!
- ENSO-neutral conditions are now in place in the Tropical Pacific and the North Pacific is in the negative phase of the PDO. The result is likely little tropical influence on our summer weather, but coastal zone SSTs from the Gulf of Alaska to Baja will remain cool continuing, for the short-term, the reasonably robust marine layers and the near average temperatures for coastal regions from California northward into Oregon and Washington. However, the summer continues to see the forecast tilt the odds to warmer than average temperatures and remaining seasonally dry.
