by Northern News Now meteorologist Dave Anderson
El Nino sure has done a number on our thermometers in the year 2024. January was 5.9 degrees warmer than normal. February was a whopping 11.9 degrees over. March fell a great deal, but it was still warmer than normal by 3.4 degrees. El Nino loosened its grip in April, according to the experts, but it was still more than three degrees above the standard.
The long-range experts and oceanographers still think La Nina will take over for El Nino very soon. That’s going to mean a summer close to normal for temperature and precipitation here in the middle of the U.S. It will, however, lead to warm spells for the northeastern U.S. and desert southwest.
Around here, the month of May should follow La Nina’s lead and become two degrees cooler than normal. Rain, unfortunately, will be about an inch below normal. That’s a big deal because normal is only around three inches. Fire danger problems may linger this month.
Forecast trends include these for May: the 1st to 4th should be showery and mild, the 5th to 9th will be sunny and cool, the 10th to 16th could be rainy and cool, the 17th to 20th will be showery and cool, the 21st to 23rd will open up a window for warm and stormy weather and the rest of the month will go back to showery and cool. So, despite several rain chances, precipitation totals delivered by most systems will be sparse.
The summer forecast indicates we’ll be close to normal on all counts, but there will still be some bouts of hot weather here and there. Heatwaves may hit for most of July after a reasonable June. August will likely mellow out again.
