MINOT — Most of North Dakota has experienced an abundance of moisture in the form of late season snowfall and heavy spring rains, but be prepared for drier days ahead. That’s the latest expectation compiled by the Climate Prediction Center.
In their long-range weather outlook for June, July, and August, the CPC says that conditions favor “below-normal seasonal precipitation” across the “Central Plains.” The designation includes the western half of North Dakota, with the greatest probability of very dry conditions to occur in the southwestern third of the state. Furthermore, says the CPC, dry conditions should persist across much of the Plains, North Dakota included, “throughout the summer and into late fall 2022.”
As for temperatures in the months ahead, forecasters say it very much looks like a normal trend for North Dakota with no strong indication of temperatures higher or lower than normal through August. What warrants some further interest, is that La Nina conditions are expected to be “slightly increasing through the Northern Hemisphere fall and early winter.” That is an indicator of a possible wet, snowy winter for the 2022-2023 season.
