Nearly the entire contiguous US is expected to have above-normal temperatures this summer, which runs from June through August, according to Thursday's Climate Prediction Center's outlook. The combination of hotter weather and below-average rainfall is expected to fuel the megadrought that covers much of the West.
The chance for above-normal temperatures will continue to be an issue from the Inter-Mountain West to the Southern Plains, with an emphasis on the Desert Southwest. Many "above" readings are expected again from southern Colorado into west Texas and encompassing the entire state of New Mexico.
Photos: Megadrought in US West hits worst-case scenario
A kayaker paddles in Lake Oroville as water levels remain low due to continuing drought conditions in Oroville, Calif., on Aug. 22, 2021. The American West's megadrought deepened so much last year that it is now the driest it has been in at least 1,200 years and a worst-case scenario playing out live, a new study finds.
AP Photo/Ethan Swope
Matt Lisignoli walks through an irrigation canal that ran dry in early August after the North Unit Irrigation District exhausted its allocated water on Sept. 1, 2021, near Madras, Ore.
AP Photo/Nathan Howard
A buoy once used to warn of a submerged rock rests on the ground along the waterline near a closed boat ramp on Lake Mead at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Aug. 13, 2021, near Boulder City, Nev.
AP Photo/John Locher
A car crosses Enterprise Bridge over Lake Oroville's dry banks on May 23, 2021, in Oroville, Calif.
AP Photo/Noah Berger
CNN's Brandon Miller and Monica Garrett contributed to this report.
Nearly the entire contiguous US is expected to have above-normal temperatures this summer, which runs from June through August, according to Thursday's Climate Prediction Center's outlook. The combination of hotter weather and below-average rainfall is expected to fuel the megadrought that covers much of the West.
The chance for above-normal temperatures will continue to be an issue from the Inter-Mountain West to the Southern Plains, with an emphasis on the Desert Southwest. Many "above" readings are expected again from southern Colorado into west Texas and encompassing the entire state of New Mexico.
