NOAA Updates It’s April 2023 Outlook on March 31, 2023

At the end of every month, NOAA updates its Outlook for the following month which in this case is April of 2023. We are reporting on that tonight.

There have been some significant changes in the Outlook for April and these are addressed in the NOAA Discussion so it is well worth reading. We highlighted some of the important changes within the NOAA Discussion. We also provided the prior Mid-Month Outlook for April for comparison.  From the NOAA Discussion:

  • The updated April temperature outlook indicates an expansion of enhanced probabilities for below normal temperatures for the western and north-central contiguous U.S. (CONUS)
  • The updated April temperature outlook shows a reduction in the probabilities favoring above normal temperatures for parts of the Southwest, while continuing to indicate likely above normal temperatures for the Southern Plains, the Central and Lower Mississippi Valley, the Ohio Valley, the Southeast, and the Mid-Atlantic region.
  • The updated April precipitation outlook indicates an increased probability of above normal precipitation for the Pacific Northwest
  • The area of enhanced probabilities of below normal precipitation over parts of the Southwest has decreased in the updated April Outlook
  • The updated April precipitation outlook indicates increased probabilities of above normal precipitation from East Texas across the Lower Mississippi Valley into the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, as well as for eastern areas of the Northern Plains, the Great Lakes region, and western New York state
  • The April precipitation outlook favors above normal precipitation for northwestern Alaska into parts of the Alaska interior and below normal precipitation for the Alaska Peninsula and the southwestern coast

The article includes the Drought Outlook for April. We have also included the current fire incidents (starting to increase) and four months of Wildland Fire Potential Outlooks and also a map showing the year-to-date snowpack in the West. We also provide the Week 2/3 Tropical Outlook for the World.