NOAA Updates It’s July 2023 Outlook on June 30, 2023- It is a dramatic change from the Mid-Month Outlook

July 1, 2023Posted inweatherNo Comments

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

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

  • El Niño is still present in the equatorial Pacific, and likely to remain in place for the entire month.
  • For the temperature outlook, the largest changes from the mid-month outlook to the updated outlook extend from the Northern and Central Rockies to High Plains, and across southern Alaska.
  • The outlook over the Northern and Central Rockies and High Plains now favors below-normal temperatures, largely influenced by the forecast conditions early in the month (Days 1-14).
  • The probabilities for above-normal temperatures are decreased over the Mississippi and Ohio River Valleys, reflective of the latest official outlooks and model guidance.
  • The precipitation outlook for Alaska has changed to favoring above-normal precipitation from the Alaska Peninsula northward across western Alaska to the Brooks Ranges and along the northern coast.
  • Hurricane Beatriz could trigger a monsoon moisture surge during the first half of July across the Southwest, so probabilities are mitigated compared to some model guidance.
  • Stronger signals  for above-normal precipitation are located over the Central Great Plains and Middle Mississippi Valley due to predicted rains in the first week exceeding the threshold for the below normal category on the monthly timescale.
  • Small portions of Texas are also likely to exceed that threshold during the first week of July.
  • During the remainder of the month, an active storm track is forecast from the Northern Rockies to the Ohio Valley and Northeast, which leads to enhanced probabilities of above-normal precipitation in those regions.
  • During July, a pattern change favors widespread above-normal rainfall extending from the central Plains across the Corn Belt and Northeast, with enhanced rainfall possibly extending southward to the southern Appalachians and Piedmont.

It may be easier to just look at the maps than digest the above.

The article includes the Drought Outlook for July. NOAA also adjusted the previously issued Seasonal Drought Outlook to reflect the changes in the July Outlook. We have also included the current fire incidents (dramatically decreased) and four months of Wildland Fire Potential Outlooks and also a map showingthe water-year-to-date precipitation. We also provide the Week 2/3 Tropical Outlook for the World.

NOAA Updates their Seasonal Outlook – June 17, 2023

June 17, 2023Posted inweatherNo Comments

On the third Thursday of the month right on schedule NOAA issued what I describe as their Four-Season Outlook. The information released also included the Mid-Month Outlook for the single month of July plus the weather and drought outlook for the next three months.  I present the information issued by NOAA and try to add context to it. It is quite a challenge for NOAA to address the subsequent month, the subsequent three-month period as well as successive three-month periods for a year or a bit more. A seasonal drought outlook is also issued.

It is very useful to read the excellent discussion that NOAA issues with this Seasonal Outlook.  The overall level of confidence in the Seasonal Outlook is addressed in the NOAA discussion. It is best to read the full discussion but here are some of the highlights:

Re ENSO:

  • “NOAA’s CPC forecast calls for more than a 90 percent chance of El Niño persisting through JFM 2024 with a 56 percent chance of a strong El Niño (> 1.5 degrees C) during NDJ 2023.”

For July:

  • “Above normal temperatures are favored from the Four Corners region, across the central and southern Great Plains, the Southeast, and the Northeast.”
  • “A weakened monsoon during July across eastern Arizona and New Mexico is predicted”
  • “a strong subtropical ridge, which would favor above-normal precipitation from the southern Great Plains northward and into the Mid-Atlantic”
  • “a storm track across the northern Great Plains and into the Ohio River valley”

For JAS 2023:

  • “The highest probabilities (more than 50 percent) of above-normal temperatures are forecast across parts of California, the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin, Southwest, Gulf Coast, and East.”
  • “elevated probabilities of below-normal precipitation for parts of the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, and Great Lakes, while above-normal precipitation is favored across much of the Great Plains, parts of the Middle to Lower Mississippi Valley, Northern Rockies, and Florida Peninsula.”

Beyond JAS  2023:

  •  “Above-normal temperatures remain the most likely outcome throughout much of the U.S. from ASO to OND 2023.”
  •  “Beginning in NDJ 2023-24 through JFM 2024, predicted El Niño conditions result in enhanced chances for above-normal temperatures across the northern tier of the CONUS”
  •  “During the winter 2023-24, above-normal temperatures are favored across the East”
  •  “Precipitation outlooks during the fall 2023 through the winter 2023-24 relied upon El Niño composites and the consolidation tool with an increased chance of above (below)-normal precipitation across the southern (northern) tier of the CONUS.”
  •  “The largest probabilities (50 percent for above) are forecast across parts of the Southeast from NDJ 2023-24 through JFM 2024 based on a strong, reliable wet signal associated with El Niño.
  •  “During the spring and summer 2023, the precipitation outlooks are based mostly on decadal trends.”