Western U.S. Expected To Be Warm, Dry This Summer

Summer doesn’t officially start until June 21st, but with these warm temperatures across the Pacific Northwest this weekend, many are wondering what the summertime forecast looks like.  USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey noted at this point, he sees a lot of mixed signals across the entire U.S.

Looking At An "Odd Blocking Pattern"

“Kind of between La Nina and El Niño," Rippey said.  "So, we really don't have a signal coming in from the Pacific. That means that other factors lately we've been seeing kind of an odd blocking pattern starting to bring the cold air down. It looks like that general pattern may continue, but these blocking patterns are very tough to foresee more than a few weeks ahead of time. So, it's kind of a low confidence summer forecast unfortunately, in terms of how weather patterns might play out.”

Rippey added when it comes to June, July and August, the expectation right now is for a ridge of high pressure developing over the western U.S.

“There is that persistence or development drought forecast for roughly the western half of the country, Pacific Coast to the Great Plains," Rippey said. 

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