Summer 2025 forecast shows hotter-than-average temperatures: What to know
The latest summer season outlook by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows hotter-than-average temperatures are predicted across much of the country this summer, with the greatest likelihood of extreme heat hitting swaths of the East Coast, southern Plains and West.
The outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center forecasts whether the seasonal average temperature for a particular area will end up above, below or near average during the three-month period of the meteorological summer.
However, the outlook focuses on a seasonal average temperature and does not detail temperature variations that occur over the course of days, weeks or even one out of the three months included in the forecast.
MORE: Why it matters that Earth is on the brink of 1.5 degrees Celsius in warming
June in a particular region could feature rather typical summer conditions, however, July and August could end up well above average, tipping the 3-month average to above for the entire season.
What this means for a local area depends greatly on the typical climate of a certain location.
For example, average high temperatures in Phoenix, Arizona, this summer range from 104 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit. This is already hot, as it is typically expected to be.
Contrast this with Caribou, Maine, where average high temperatures during the summer months range from 72 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit. Some people may consider this warm, but not hot.
Both locations are shaded red on NOAA's forecast map, indicating that temperatures are expected to average above the typical summer range. However, "above average" could mean just one degree higher -- or several.
MORE: Summer 2024 was the warmest on record in the Northern Hemisphere, according to latest Copernicus report
And for places like Caribou, above average doesn't necessarily mean hot. These forecasts also consider overnight lows, so in some areas, warmer-than-average temperatures might come from milder nights rather than scorching afternoons.
While the seasonal outlook highlights where above-average warmth is likely, it doesn't tell us how hot or long-lasting any extreme heat might be.
The hottest temperatures of the summer typically occur much later in the season, with different regions of the country experiencing their warmest average temperatures at varying times.
For the contiguous United States, on average, July is the hottest month of the year.
However, some regions of the country typically don't experience their warmest average temperatures until August or even September.
MORE: Extreme heat could make pregnancy riskier for millions of women: Report
A majority of the country, including much of the Northeast, Midwest and West, experiences the hottest temperatures of the year on average, during the second half of July and first half of August.
Much of the South typically experiences its peak average temperatures during the second half of August. However, along much of the West Coast, the warmest temperatures of the year usually don't occur until September.
For the past two summers in a row, the seasons in the Northern Hemisphere ranked as the warmest on record with extreme heat bringing persistent, dangerously hot conditions across several continents, according to a 2024 report by Copernicus, the European Union's Climate Change Service.
Summer 2024 (June through August) was the warmest summer on record for the Northern Hemisphere, beating the previous record set in 2023 by .66 degrees Celsius, or 1.19 degrees Fahrenheit, the report found. The Northern Hemisphere's top 10 warmest summers on record have all occurred within the past 10 years, according to Copernicus.
MORE: Long periods of extreme heat can accelerate biological age, scientists say
"The temperature-related extreme events witnessed this summer will only become more intense, with more devastating consequences for people and the planet unless we take urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus, said in a statement at the time.
The last time Earth recorded a cooler-than-average year was in 1976, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
While it is unlikely that summer 2025 will surpass last year's record, this forecast shows that scorching temperatures could be on the way for much of the U.S. this season.
Summer 2025 forecast shows hotter-than-average temperatures: What to know originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Texas Woman Dies From Brain-Eating Amoeba After Flushing Sinuses
A woman in Texas has died from a rare brain infection after flushing her nose with water stored in the tank of a recreational vehicle. Lab tests on the 71-year-old woman's cerebrospinal fluid confirmed she was infected with Naegleria fowleri, a tiny, free-swimming protozoan also dubbed 'the brain-eating amoeba,' which causes the highly lethal disease primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAM). This killer bug hangs out in warm bodies of fresh water like ponds, lakes, and even neglected swimming pools. Most infections occur while swimming or engaging in water sports in these places. "The patient had no recreational exposure to fresh water; however, she had reportedly performed nasal irrigation on several occasions using non-boiled water from the RV potable water faucet during the four days before illness onset," a CDC case report details. "Despite medical treatment for a suspected PAM infection, the patient developed seizures and subsequently died eight days after symptom onset." Authorities were unable to detect the amoeba in samples from the RV tank or the campground water supply, which may be because they took samples 23 days after the possible exposure took place. But testing did indicate the water had inadequate levels of disinfectant to prevent microbes from building biofilm communities that can protect pathogens like N. fowleri. The water was more cloudy than what is recommended for drinking water, another sign that disinfectant levels may have been inadequate. This is why you really shouldn't flush tap (or RV tank) water up your nose for nasal irrigation: the CDC recommends only distilled or sterilized water be used. Because while N. fowleri likes things lukewarm, it really loves hotter liquids: the kinds sloshing around inside our bodies, for instance. When it enters a human body, N. fowleri passes a temperature threshold – about 25 degrees Celsius or 77 degrees Fahrenheit – that transforms the bug from its flagellate state into an insatiable trophozoite, a form in which the microbe is actively feeding and reproducing. Any other entryway to the body, and N. fowleri will be politely escorted out by our immune system or burned up by stomach acids. But via the nose, it has an alarmingly straightforward route to the brain. This ravenous pathogen chews through the membrane we use to smell with, the olfactory epithelium, and follows the nerve fibers that carry scent signals back to our brains, nibbling at astrocytes and neurons along the way until it reaches its cerebral target. Most people infected with N. fowleri die within 1 to 18 days after symptoms start. Warning signs include headache, fever, nausea, and vomiting, which can progress to a stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance, and hallucinations. While this disease is very rare, the prognosis is dire: of the 164 cases reported in the US between 1962 and 2023, only 4 people have survived. "This case reinforces the potential for serious health risks associated with improper use of nasal irrigation devices, as well as the importance of maintaining RV water quality and ensuring that municipal water systems adhere to regulatory standards," the report states. The full CDC report is available here. Menopause Drug Reduces Breast Cancer Growth In Clinical Trial Bowel Cancer in Young People Is Rising – Here's How to Reduce Your Risk Why Do Some People Need Less Sleep? The Answer Lies in Our Genes.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Muslim pilgrims pray at Mount Arafat in hajj apex
Muslim pilgrims prayed atop Mount Arafat on Thursday during the high point of the annual hajj pilgrimage, as Saudi officials called on participants to refrain from being outside during the hottest hours of the day. Thousands of pilgrims were beginning to gather before dawn around the hill and the surrounding plain where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have given his last sermon. While some arrived early to take advantage of the relatively cool morning, many pilgrims will remain for hours of prayers and Koran recitals until the evening in the most arduous portion of the hajj. After sunset they will head to Muzdalifah, halfway between Arafat and the sprawling tent city of Mina, where they will gather pebbles so they can perform the symbolic "stoning of the devil". "This is something that I used to see every year on the TV screen during hajj and I always thought: 'I wish I could be here'," said 33-year-old Ali from Pakistan, one of 1.5 million pilgrims who had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage. "I've been trying to get here... for the past 3 years," he added as he gazed at the mount. "I feel very blessed." Hundreds of pilgrims dressed in white dotted the mount itself, with many more at its foot praying or taking pictures. Earlier this week, Saudi authorities called on pilgrims to stay inside their tents between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm on Thursday, when the desert sun is at its harshest. Temperatures this year have already exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as one of the world's largest annual religious gatherings, bringing together devotees from around the globe, kicked off earlier this week Officials have beefed up heat mitigation efforts aiming to avoid a repeat of last year's hajj, which saw 1,301 pilgrims die as temperatures reached 51.8C. "I came here early to (avoid) the sun and later I will pray inside my tent," said 54-year-old Adel Ismail, from Syria. To make this year's pilgrimage safer, authorities have expanded infrastructure, deployed thousands of extra personnel and relied on an arsenal of high-tech tools to help better manage crowds. Authorities have mobilised more than 40 government agencies and 250,000 officials, doubling their efforts against heat-related illness following the lethal heatwave of 2024. Shaded areas have been expanded by 50,000 square metres (12 acres), thousands more medics will be on standby, and more than 400 cooling units will be deployed, the hajj minister has told AFP. Authorities said a majority of the deaths in 2024 were among unregistered pilgrims who lacked access to amenities like air-conditioned tents and buses. This year, they have also cracked down on unregistered pilgrims looking to sneak into Mecca, relying on frequent raids, drone surveillance and a barrage of text alerts. Hajj permits are allocated to countries on a quota basis and distributed to individuals by a lottery. But even for those who can obtain them, the steep costs prompt many to attempt the hajj without a permit, even though they risk arrest and deportation if caught. Large crowds at the hajj have proved lethal in the past, most notably in 2015 when a stampede during the "stoning the devil" ritual in Mina killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest hajj disaster. Saudi Arabia earns billions of dollars a year from the hajj, and the lesser pilgrimage known as umrah, undertaken at other times of the year. bur-ds/ami/dhw
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Southwest Pacific hit by unprecedented marine heat waves in 2024, UN says
SINGAPORE (Reuters) -Unprecedented heat waves in the Southwest Pacific affected more than 10% of the global ocean surface in 2024, damaging coral reefs and putting the region's last remaining tropical glacier at risk of extinction, the UN's weather body said on Thursday. Average 2024 temperatures in the region - which covers Australia and New Zealand as well as southeast Asian island states like Indonesia and the Philippines - were nearly half a degree Celsius (0.9 Fahrenheit) higher than the 1991-2020 mean, the World Meteorological Organization said in an annual report. "Much of the region saw at least severe marine heat wave conditions at some point during the course of 2024, particularly in areas near and south of the equator," said the WMO's Blair Trewin, one of the report's authors. Extreme heat over the year affected 40 million square kilometres (15.4 million square miles) of ocean, and new temperature highs were set in the Philippines and Australia, the report said. Ocean surface temperatures also broke records, while total ocean heat content was the second-highest annual average, behind 2022. An unprecedented number of cyclones, which experts have attributed to climate change, also caused havoc in the Philippines in October and November. Sea levels continue to rise more quickly than the global average, an urgent problem in a region where more than half the population live within 500 metres (547 yards) of the coast, the report added. The report also cited satellite data showing that the region's sole tropical glacier, located in Indonesia on the western part of the island of New Guinea, shrank by up to 50% last year. "Unfortunately, if this rate of loss continues, this glacier could be gone by 2026 or shortly thereafter," said the WMO's Thea Turkington, another of the report's authors.
