The gamut of unfortunate weather hit parts of the plains during June.
Deadly tornadoes left destruction and heartache in parts of Texas. Portions of Texas were also plagued by intense floods that left the ground overly saturated.
That seemed to be the case for some areas in the Plains that needed the rain. It came too quickly and flooding was a big problem. Flooding can be a bigger problem when it comes to drought-stricken soil as it will not take in the rain as well as soil that is not moisture starved.
There were some instances where beneficial moisture fell at a good pace, but unfortunately that wasn’t as widespread as many would have liked.
The past month also marked some unseasonably hot temperatures for some areas too.
Many Canadian wildfires burned and upper-level systems pulled that smoke south into parts of the United States during the past month as well.
The southern to central Plains are expected to see above seasonal temperatures for the month of July. That trend continues for the southern Plains into the southern half of Kansas through the next three months as well.
For precipitation, we can expect to see those numbers above normal for southern and eastern Texas along with northern Nebraska into the northern Plains. Conditions favor above average totals for precipitation for northern Texas through Nebraska through September.
This forecast looks to lead to some drought improvement for a lot of Kansas and Nebraska along with western Oklahoma. Unfortunately, the opposite will likely hold true for portions of central to western Texas who could see drought persisting with even further development.
Globally, El Niño conditions are in place. It looks like we are in for this to continue as the indices that reflect El Niño are forecast to strengthen into the fall and winter months.
I’m always keeping an eye to the sky (and the weather patterns), so watch for next month’s update.
Editor’s note: Regina Bird grew up on a farm near Belleville, Kansas. The views from the farm helped spur her interest in weather. Following high school, she went on to get a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Kansas. She worked as a television meteorologist for nine years in Nebraska. Follow her on Twitter: @ReginaBirdWX
