The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is calling for a warm autumn in the United States, forecasting above average temperatures for August, September and October. In addition, an above average amount of rain is also forecast for portions of Alaska and the U.S. Southwest and South, with the Pacific Northwest seeing less precipitation than usual.
"You can see that across the entire United States, including Alaska, there is more of a chance that temperatures will be above normal," according to meteorologist Dan Collins, with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center-Operational Prediction Branch.
The main reason appears to be increased high-pressure ridging over the north-central U.S., leading to clearer weather and higher temperatures. Climate change trends have also affected NOAA’s forecast, with temperatures expected to follow the patterns recorded over the past few decades. Although June of this year was only the third-hottest on record, it was still 0.82ºC (1.48ºF) above the 20th century average.
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