New forecast predicts an unusual fall season for nearly all 50 US states
If you were looking forward to cooler, less humid weather after a record-breaking summer, you're out of luck.
Experts say there's a high chance that nearly all 50 US states will see higher than usual temperatures this fall.
This abnormally warm forecast may be driven by La Niña, which the periodic cooling of sea-surface temperatures across the east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean, experts say.
But global climate change is likely also playing a role average temperatures continue to climb each year.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released their seasonal outlook for September to November, showing higher than average temperatures across the nation when regions typically have cooler weather
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) outlook for September to November, the Four Corner states (Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico) and New England are most likely to experience a hot fall, with a 60 to 70 percent chance of above-average temps.
NOAA considers monthly temperature or precipitation data above or below average if it falls into the upper or lower third of measurements taken from 1991 to 2020 for a given month.
Average fall temperatures vary by state, but in the Four Corner states, 'normal' temperatures typically range from the 40s to the 90s Fahrenheit. In New England, the typical range from the 30s to the 70s Fahrenheit.
Parts of the West Coast, however, do not have a higher likelihood of warmer than average fall temperatures, including parts of Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Alaska.
Typical fall temperatures for these states range from the 20s to the 70s.
The Midwest region is expected to experience above-normal temperatures and the northern states, including North and South Dakota, and some of the Great Lake states are leaning above average temperatures.
In the Midwest, fall temperatures typically range from the 30s to the 70s Fahrenheit.
Several states throughout the central US can also expect a drier-than-average fall, with New Mexico and southwest Texas most likely to experience below-average rainfall.
In New Mexico, average monthly rainfall for September through November ranges from 0.85 to 1.54 inches. In Texas, it ranges from 2.96 to 3.88 inches.
NOAA says there's a 50 to 60 percent chance that parts of these states will see higher than average precipitation this fall.
Meanwhile, the East Coast and parts of Oregon, Washington and Alaska are likely to see above-average rainfall.
Fall weather across the country could be affected by La Niña when it arrives sometime between September and November.
It occurs every three to five years and tends to make fall weather warmer and drier than average.
But climate change is also driving record-breaking high temperatures throughout the US, experts say.
This year is already on track to dethrone 2023 as the hottest year ever recorded in Earth's history, according to a report from Copernicus, the European Union's climate change service.
The fall forecast comes on the heels of an record-breaking hot summer.
NOAA's June through August forecast showed at least 20 states spanning throughout the Northeast and Midwest were in hot zones where temperatures were be above the normal.
Fall in the US is when weather becomes cooler as winter is set to usher in, but most of the nation will continue feeling the heat from the summer
The extreme heat was a result of El Niño, caused by a shift in the distribution of warm water in the Pacific Ocean around the equator, which typically carries dryer and warmer air to the northern US.
By June, the majority of the US had already experienced at least one major heat wave, and millions of people were under heat alerts.
July offered no respite, with average temperatures souring well above average across much of the western and eastern US.
Dozens of locations in the West and Pacific Northwest, including Nevada, Palm Springs and Medford tied or broke previous heat records with temperatures well over 100 degrees.
July also saw the planet's warmest day in recorded history.
