May 2022 U.S. Climate Outlook: Cooler- and wetter-than-normal month favored across the northern tier
Across the southern tier, the odds are tilted towards a warmer-than-average May.
Understanding Climate
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Fifth-warmest March on record. Near-record-low sea ice in the Southern Hemisphere. Many precipitation disruptions consistent with La Niña climate pattern.
Record drought conditions across West raise concerns for summer dry season.
In many locations, spring snow also melts earlier, reducing summer streamflows.
NOAA's April 2022 Climate Outlook favors a warm month across the southern and eastern United States, a dry month across the Southwest, and a wet month for the Great Lakes and Northeast.
Flood risk in Upper Midwest, Midwest and Southeast.
It was the seventh-warmest February on record going back to 1880, and it is virtually certain 2022 will wind up one of the ten warmest years on record, despite the cooling influence of La Niña.
Below-average precipitation across the West led to an expansion of drought.
The March 2022 climate outlook favors a warmer-than-average month for the eastern/south-central US, a cooler-than-average month for the western/north-central US, and a wetter-than-average month for the Great Lakes.
It was the sixth-warmest year on record for planet Earth.