Over the past few days, we have gotten a taste of September weather putting fall on all of our minds.
While we still have seven weeks until the official start of the new season, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) released a seasonal outlook that overviews what we can expect for the end of summer and beginning of fall.
CPC releases several types of outlooks on a daily to monthly basis that measures the probability for areas across the United States to see above or below average temperature and precipitation.
Researchers and forecasters compare trends, large-scale weather systems and sea surface temperatures to an observational period of 30 years to get an idea of what to expect from the weather in the long term.
For the month of August, temperatures in our hometowns are expected to be slightly below normal; which we have experienced for the past few days.
While the brief break from heat and humidity has been nice, we are seeing trends to warmer temperatures and the 90s are expected to make a comeback in the next week or so.
When it comes to rainfall, a lot of us have equal chances to be either below or above normal. Most of Iowa, however, is forecasted to be slightly above normal. This situation would be very ideal as western Iowa is seeing some severe drought conditions and needs quite a bit of rain to make up for the dry weather.
When looking at the end of summer and the start of fall, forecasters are expecting the entire United States to see above average temperatures.
When looking at the map, the darker the color the higher the probability of seeing warmer conditions. For the next few months, the desert southwest and the northeast are the areas likeliest to see above average temperatures as they are the regions shaded in the darkest red.
Our hometowns are in the lightest color, which means we have a slighter chance to trend warmer.
For average rainfall, we are once again in an area to be on either end of the spectrum.
The only area expected to be drier is around Utah and Colorado. The southeast and northern plains are in areas to be on the wetter side. A lot of the Midwest is hoping for some more rainfall in the next few months because we have been relatively dry so far this summer.
Although we might get some fall teasers in August, it looks like we will hold onto some warmth as we head into the start of fall.
You can find any Climate Prediction outlooks on their website. The next seasonal outlook will be issued on August 20, 2020.
