A June full of extreme weather

We’re heading toward the end of June and Coeur d’Alene has yet to report a 90-degree day. However, at the Spokane International Airport, a high of 90 degrees was hit June 22. The high on that date in Coeur d’Alene was 86 degrees. Other stations in the region reported highs in the mid-to-upper 80s on June 22, but there was a 90-degree high at Worley.

With astronomical summer beginning last week, it doesn’t appear that we’re going to have a spell of very hot weather across the Inland Northwest through at least early July. However, Cliff and I do believe that we’ll have a period of about four to six weeks of very warm to hot weather with below-normal precipitation beginning around the middle of July. By late August and September, precipitation totals should climb to near to above-normal levels in our region as we should start to see more of an influence from the cooling of sea-surface temperatures along the Equator.

Our weather patterns seem to be in a transition with the sudden cooling of sea-surface temperatures in the waters of the south-central Pacific Ocean. Many computer forecast models and forecasters are stating that we have a good chance of seeing a new La Niña, the cooler-than-normal sea-surface temperature event, form late this year. The latest information does show a small stretch of cooler-than-normal waters along the equatorial regions that is pointing to a new La Niña. As I mentioned in previous articles, if a phenomenon does form, it would be the fourth one in five years, which is very rare. A new La Niña would also mean an increased chance of above-normal snowfalls across the Inland Northwest and much of the northern U.S. during the next winter season.

In addition, NOAA is forecasting an above-normal tropical storm and hurricane season in the Atlantic and Caribbean waters thanks to the demise of the warmer El Niño. The season began June 1, and we’ve already had one named storm, Alberto. That storm formed in the Gulf of Mexico and brought heavy rainfall and flooding to parts of eastern Mexico last week. Some hurricane forecasters are predicting a record number of named storms by the time the season ends Nov. 30. The most named storms that formed in recorded history happened in 2020 when there was a total of 30, compared to an average of 14.

June has also been a month of weather extremes across the U.S. and the world. Over the last week, there has been extreme heat from the Midwest into the eastern portion of the country. Heat emergencies were declared as record-breaking temperatures were reported throughout the region. Highs of around 100 degrees were observed last week at New Jersey’s Newark Airport and Washington, D.C. In the normally mild to warm state of Maine, highs climbed into the mid-90s last week. Phoenix, Ariz., hit 117 degrees June 19, which tied its daily record high.

The middle of June had record-high temperatures in the upper 90s across the southern states including Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. These temperatures, combined with higher humidity levels, made for very uncomfortable conditions. On June 6, Las Vegas hit 111 degrees and tied the record for the earliest day with a reading above 110 degrees. Death Valley soared to 122 degrees on that date.

In other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, it’s been extremely hot. For example, in northern India, highs topped the 110-degree mark earlier this month. It was a record-breaking 125 degrees June 17 at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which is located in western Saudi Arabia.

However, despite the intense heat across parts of the Northern Hemisphere this month, people in the Rockies and parts of the Northwest experienced unusual cold and snowfalls. On June 17, nearly one million residents in this part of the country were under a winter weather advisory or a frost advisory. Moderate to heavy snowfalls were seen in the mountains of western Montana and Idaho as one of the reports showed that over 12 inches of snow fell at Clover Meadows in Montana from that cold storm. According to Iowa State University’s Iowa Environmental Mesonet, this was the fifth time that a Winter Storm Warning was issued in Montana since 2005.

In Australia, which is in their winter season in the Southern Hemisphere, temperatures have been much below normal as cold snaps sent temperatures well below the freezing mark in many locations in the southern part of the continent last week. Record cold was recently reported in the eastern portions of the state of Queensland, which is located in the central part of the continent.

Also, while eastern Canada has been sweltering with record heat, the western provinces, including British Columbia and Alberta, have reported record cold. For example, June 19, over a dozen record lows, and areas of snow were reported in Alberta.

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Contact Randy Mann at randy@longrangeweather.com.