As the U.S. sizzles under sweltering summer heat, those hoping for a cool fall may be out of luck.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center released its latest three-month outlook for August, September and October. The prediction shows above-average temperatures are expected in almost every state through the end of the summer and start of the fall.
The Northeast and several states in the West, including Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming, all have particularly high chances — 60-70% — of experiencing temperatures that are hotter than usual for those three months. The Mid-Atlantic and the South have a 50-60% chance of seeing warmer than normal temperatures.
A handful of states could be spared. The weather maps show the West Coast, Pacific Northwest, and parts of North Dakota and Minnesota have equal chances of having normal weather, hotter than normal weather or cooler than normal weather.
The three-month forecast comes as a La Niña watch is in effect. Weather officials announced the end of El Niño in June and said La Niña is forecast to develop at some point over the next several months and persist through the winter in the Northern Hempisphere.
Under La Niña conditions, winter temperatures are usually warmer than normal in the South and cooler than normal in the North, NOAA explains.
La Niña can also lead to a more severe hurricane season. The latest forecast, issued in the wake of Hurricane Beryl, describes an anticipated “hyperactive” hurricane season.
An updated three-month forecast will be released on Aug. 15.
Extreme summer heat has already been behind several deaths across the U.S. Earlier in July, a Death Valley National Park visitor died from heat exposure and another person was hospitalized, officials said. And at Canyonlands National Park, a father and daughter were found dead after they got lost and ran out of water in 100-degree heat.
The world recently marked one full year of back-to-back monthly heat records, the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announced in June. That follows a record-setting summer of 2023, which scientists said was the hottest in 2,000 years in some parts of the world.
“Millions of people globally are already experiencing impacts of climate change in the form of extreme temperatures, heavy rains, flooding, and more,” NOAA says. “…For every little bit of additional warming, the risk of negative impacts gets worse.”
