Matt Makens

As the Central and Eastern US have had some notable areas of rainfall, much of
the west has not, instead heat shattered existing records across the west.

The table above shows a statistical count of all record setting temperatures
through this post. Looking just at locations where all-time record heat was set
since June 14th is shown here.

Again, those displayed are new all-time hottest temperatures. 

June, to date, has been cooler than average across the southeastern U.S., warmer
elsewhere: 

In terms of precipitation received compared to average, it makes sense that the
drier areas are the hot ones.

So, although there have been wet areas east of the Continental Divide, the West
and Northern Plains have had a dry June thus far.

During the past month, we have seen drought increase in the Corn Belt and across
the West.

Drought has improved in parts of Colorado to New Mexico and Texas and along the
eastern seaboard.

The latest drought monitor shows the worst of the drought in the Desert
Southwest and Northern Plains.

Let's look at the next two weeks in terms of precipitation above or below
'normal.'

That map above shows a better chance of spreading some wet weather farther west
and north than we had recorded previously in June. Again, that map is in terms
of average. 

The estimated precipitation totals on the way for the next week is shown here:

And the same but for week 2:

As we get deeper into July, we will likely see the pattern return to record heat
across the West and the cooler and wetter than average areas will shift farther
south and east, just as we saw in early June.

In case you missed it, here's the summer precipitation outlook posted earlier
this week:

Summer moisture outlook and likelihood of the monsoonIt is the time of year
when
the Southwestern U.S. typically sees the development
of the monsoon, and this will be a critical one for the Four Corners Region
that
is hit so hard with drought. Although, the Southwest is not the only area
currently seeing a significant shortage of moisture. A well-dev…Matt MakensJun
21, 2021Weather5280
[https://www.weather5280.com/2021/06/21/summer-moisture-outlook-and-likelihood-of-the-monsoon]

Drought update & the outlook: Friday, June 25th, 2021