National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasters predict a persistent drought in the west with below-average precipitation for the second year in a row, according to its Spring Outlook report, release March 17.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center also forecast most of the U.S., from the desert southwest to the east coast, north through the midwest and reaching the Canadian border, will have above-average temperatures from April to June, the report said. The Climate Prediction Center is part of the National Weather Service.
“NOAA’s Spring Outlook helps build a more weather and climate-ready nation by informing local decision makers and emergency managers of this spring’s hazardous weather, such as extreme drought,” Rick Spinrad, NOAA administrator, said.
“Severe to exceptional drought has persisted in some areas of the west since the summer of 2020, and drought has expanded to the southern plains and Lower Mississippi Valley,” Jon Gottschalck, chief of the operational prediction branch of the Climate Prediction Center, said. “With nearly 60 percent of the continental U.S. experiencing minor to exceptional drought conditions, this is the largest drought coverage we’ve seen in the U.S. since 2013.”
Spinrad said the seasonal outlooks give communities advanced warning of the conditions to come, enabling them to make preparations that boost resilience to these hazards, NOAA reported.
A major flood risk potential is forecast for the Red River of the North in North Dakota. The James River in South Dakota will have moderate flood potential. Late fall and winter precipitation saturated soils and increased streamflows, creating the risk, according to Ed Clark, director of NOAA’s National Water Center.
