Heat and Fire Weather Concerns in the West; Excessive Rainfall Possible in the South-Central U.S.

Heat will build over the Intermountain West and the Southwest the next couple of days. Lightning from dry thunderstorms can create new fire starts and combined with gusty winds may cause a fire to rapidly grow in Oregon and northern California. Flash flooding will be possible in New Mexico and west Texas today, as well as parts of the southern and central Plains due to slow moving thunderstorms. Read More >

June 2022 saw a variety of different weather conditions. Depending on location, rainfall might have been above or below average. Generally, rainfall was below average in northwest Wisconsin and more variable across northeast Minnesota with a swath of above average rainfall most notable around the Brainerd Lakes region. Soil moisture anomalies are about what is expected based on June’s rainfall and the preceding spring patterns, with positive soil moisture anomalies in northeast Minnesota and negative anomalies in northwest Wisconsin. Temperatures were generally around to above average, and one of the most notable events of the month was the heat wave of 6/19-6/20 with widespread highs in the 90s and a high of 100 at Brainerd tying for the highest June high temperature ever recorded (which, interestingly, was also achieved in 2021). While statistics are not presented, severe weather was also quite prevalent throughout June.

The CPC is forecasting above average temperatures for July and the rest of summer with equal chances for precipitation in July and favoring below average temperatures for the remainder of summer. While there are no forecasted drought developments, much of northwest Wisconsin could continue to dry out if storms continue to miss that area as a whole.