Warm summer ahead. Next winter too? Could be.
That’s the highlights of the latest 3-month weather outlook issued by the Climate Prediction Center.
Of course, while long-range weather predictions are always subject to change, the latest outlook for North Dakota is much improved from one month ago. Coming on the heels of a long winter that refuses to step away, the latest issuance from the CPC is encouraging.
Just a month ago the CPC was forecasting below-normal temperatures for North Dakota through June. No longer. The CPC says our May-June-July seasonal temperature outlook has improved to normal for thermometer readings this summer. The same is forecast for precipitation.
What’s more, says the CPC, conditions over the tropical Pacific Ocean “favors a transition to El Nino.” For North Dakota, El Nino generally brings warmer temperatures, particularly noticeable during the winter months.
The CPC has issued an El Nino Watch, concluding there is a “62% chance of El Nino developing during May-July 2023.”
Furthermore, the CPC adds that the possibility of El Nino rises to 80% by fall of this year and that “chances of above-normal temperatures increase across the Northern Tier of the United States by the winter months.”
