The updated August outlook was released on Tuesday by NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center. Warmth is still the dominate message from the previous forecast issued a few weeks ago, but the above average temperatures are not expected to be as widespread. Areas from the Southwest to the Southeast, along with the Northeast, will likely see warmer than normal weather. The wetter than average weather has been extended throughout most of the East, along with the Southwest. Below normal rainfall is likely in the Northwest and southern Plains.
Our final outlook for August sees the best chances for above-normal temperatures across Alaska, the West, the Southern Plains, the Northeast, and the Gulf states. Conditions are less certain for the rest of the Plains through the Mid-Atlantic. https://t.co/ZojpnS5Ja5 pic.twitter.com/KMxPtUZ0Yz
— NWSCPC (@NWSCPC) July 31, 2018
#Drought during August is forecast to improve for parts of the Central Plains through Lower Mississippi Valley. While much of the drought appears likely to remain over the southwestern US, some improvement is possible for the Four Corners region. https://t.co/uvDvOR3Qkq pic.twitter.com/TAAAjynYKN
— NWSCPC (@NWSCPC) July 31, 2018
Drought conditions are expected to persist in the South, but may improve in the Southwest. With drier than normal conditions in the outlook for the southern Plains, the drought may worsen in parts of Texas. The Climate Prediction Center says the slight changes in the temperature, precipitation and drought forecasts were due made due to current weather trends and minor changes in the long term weather model forecasts.