2024 Seasonal Weather Trends for the U.S.

Almost everyone living in the United States will have something in common in the upcoming months: warmer than normal temperatures. That's according to the experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and their new 2024 seasonal outlook. Let's delve into the seasonal weather trends expected in the U.S. from June through August. 2024 Seasonal Weather Trends The biggest change coming to the United States in terms of weather is that the experts at the NOAA predict we'll switch from an El Niño to ENSO-neutral withing the next month. Also, there's a 49% chance of a La Niña developing between June and August and a %69 chance of it developing between July and September. The weather forecasters at Weather.com also agree that the end of our El Niño is coming, stating, "El Niño, the periodic warming of water in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean near the equator, is fading fast." According to NASA's SpacePlace, "La Niña is a weather pattern that begins in the Pacific Ocean. Warm ocean water and clouds move west during a La Niña. This means that places like Indonesia and Australia can get much more rain than usual. And places like the southwestern United States can be very dry." In turn, NASA says that an , "El Niño is a weather pattern. In El Niño years, ocean waters along South America and California warm above normal temperatures. Many rain clouds form over this warm part of the ocean and move inland, dumping more rain than usual in South and Central America and in the United States." Even with the La Niña creeping in, the NOAA weather experts say June, July and August are expected to bring above-normal temperatures across America, when it comes to seasonal weather trends. In fact, the only areas in the continental U.S. with "equal chances" of normal temperatures as opposed to a likelihood for above-normal temperatures are the Dakotas and small parts of Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri and Montana. The areas of the U.S. with the highest chances for above-normal temperatures include the Northeast and Southwest, with the rest of the country having mainly a "likely above" or "leaning above" chance of those above-normal temperatures. This warmer temperature trend is in line with what the world has been experiencing, too. Last year was actually the world's warmest year since records started being taken back in the 1850s. As for seasonal weather trends with precipitation, that's more of a mixed bag. The wettest areas of the U.S. are generally expected to be in the Southeast and Northeast, and the driest areas are expected to land out West and in the Great Plains. I love hot weather, so I'm ready for a scorcher but hope the incoming La Niña doesn't make this winter too brutal.