Summary:
- The west coast was mostly warmer than average during April, while the middle of the country was colder than average and the eastern half of the country warmer than average.
- April was dry pretty much everywhere across the west with many locations seeing the driest April on record.
- A dry month added to the severity and spatial extent of drought with 96% of the western US now in some category of drought and roughly 65% in severe to extreme. Additional areas in the PNW, northern Rockies, and Texas likely to see drought development further as the summer progresses.
- Mild start to May will likely hold for most through mid-month then moderate warming later in the month. While there appear to be a few systems that may bring precipitation to the PNW, not much likely south into California and the southwest.
- No large-scale frost events on the horizon at this point.
- Continued weakening of La Niña conditions in the Tropical Pacific. Some warming of SSTs in the Gulf of Alaska but coastal California waters remain cool. The best bet is for continued marine layers and a slow warm-up for coastal regions northward into Oregon and Washington. The forecast for a warmer than average summer is still in play for most except the extreme northwest which is still holding to near average temperatures.
