An exceptionally hot summer is likely to transition into a steamy fall, a long-range forecast released Thursday indicates.
The Climate Prediction Center, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service, released an updated three-month weather outlook with broad predictions for the continental U.S. and Alaska.
Unfortunately for those living through a brutally hot summer, there appears to be little relief in the forecast between now and October. Every single state is at least partially leaning toward above-average temperatures for the end of summer and the start of fall.
The Northeast and the Four Corners states have exceptionally high chances (60%-70%) of seeing hotter-than-normal weather over the next three months.
The map below shows the odds of an extra-hot summer around the country. The darker the shade of orange, the more likely the weather will be warm.
Areas shown in white, like the West Coast, are a toss-up: equal chances of average weather, hotter-than-average weather, and cooler-than-average weather.
The season has already proven to be dangerously hot – and we’re only halfway through the summer. Heat is the suspected cause of death in dozens of recent cases, including retirees in Oregon, a motorcyclist in Death Valley, California, and a 10-year-old boy who collapsed while hiking with his family on a Phoenix trail.
Records for high temperatures have been shattered around the western states in July, with Palm Springs, California, hitting its all-time high of 124 Fahrenheit on July 5 and Las Vegas registering its all-time high of 120 on July 7.
The prolonged heat mixed with predicted dry conditions could exacerbate drought conditions out West. Much of the West and Midwest is leaning toward below-average precipitation.
Meanwhile, as hurricane season continues in the Atlantic, the Gulf and East coasts are predicted to get more rain than usual over the next three months.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.