NOAA Says Drought Likely to Continue Throughout Rest of the Year

The annual spring outlook from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicted hotter, drier conditions across much of the US, including parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The NOAA said temperatures will give way to warmer-than-average weather and continued drought in areas that need moisture.

Fifty-one percent of the continental United States is already in moderate to exceptional drought and that is expected to continue in California, the Southwest, the southern Rocky Mountain states, Texas and Florida, NOAA said.

The three-month forecast noted an additional hazard, however, for the midwest: with heavy, late snows setting up conditions for flooding along the Red and Souris rivers in North Dakota.

"This outlook reminds us of the climate diversity and weather extremes we experience in North America, where one state prepares for flooding while neighboring states are parched, with no drought relief in sight," said Laura Furgione, deputy director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "We produce this outlook to help communities prepare for what's likely to come in the next few months and minimize weather's impacts on lives and livelihoods. A Weather-Ready Nation hopes for the best, but prepares for the worst."

Spring is likely to bring above-normal temperatures to most of the continental United States and northern Alaska, except in the Pacific Northwest, the extreme northern Great Plains and Hawaii, which are expected to be cooler than normal.

"We have been experiencing a very unusually cold pattern with a jet (stream) far south of normal," Ed O'Lenic of NOAA's Climate Prediction Center said during a telephone briefing, according to Reuters "As the sun gets higher in the sky, sooner or later that's got to stop."