Meteorological summer is just weeks away. Lincoln Riddle spoke with our long-range experts to find out what's in store for the United States this summer.
00:00From high heat to severe weather, a summer of extremes is expected for the United States this year.
00:06Meteorological summer officially gets underway on June 1st and wraps up at the end of August.
00:12For many, temperatures during that stretch will soar above the historical average and could at times challenge records.
00:18AccuWeather long-range expert Paul Pastelok says the greatest concern heading into this season is focused on the northwest and northern Rockies.
00:26Departures actually could wind up for the 90-day period for the summer season, 3 to 5 degrees above average, which is significant.
00:33Another area, the high plains, could miss out on precipitation as we get into the summer season, and that area could heat up with dry soil.
00:41Drought is expected to grip the plains, north-central U.S., northern Rockies, and the northwest this summer,
00:47fueling the hotter-than-average temperatures and increasing the wildfire risk.
00:51Castelok says the severe weather threat will be centered around the eastern and north-central U.S.,
00:57and that the tornado risk will remain high, particularly in June.
01:01States like Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and then spreading out a little bit towards the Midwest
01:08and also into the northern mid-Atlantic states, we could see an above-average amount of tornadoes across this zone going forward.
01:16In the southwest, the stage is set for an above-average monsoon season, providing much-needed rain and a break from the ongoing dryness.
01:24That will calm the heat. That will bring reservoirs and rivers back up in these areas and really cut down on the extreme drought in the southwest.
01:34The start of meteorological summer coincides with the start of hurricane season,
01:39and AccuWeather is forecasting another busy one in the Atlantic, with 13 to 18 named storms, 7 to 10 hurricanes,
01:46and 3 to 6 direct impacts on the United States this year.
01:50For more on AccuWeather's summer forecast, visit AccuWeather.com.
