Heat to concentrate over the western U.S this month

Signals continue to support the idea that the core of the hottest air relative to normal will be focused over the western United States during a large portion of June. This is not surprising as a large part of the region is under severe to extreme drought. Drought feeds the heat as most of the sun's energy goes directly toward heating, rather than having to evaporate water out of the ground.

There will likely be a corridor of storminess, which will mostly be directed from the western Gulf states through the Midwest and into parts of the Northeast U.S. and eastern Canada. This will lead to more days of showers and thunderstorms.

Thunderstorm may be suppressed more than usual across Florida due to the presence of drier air, as the bulk of tropical moisture continues to be directed toward Louisiana and Texas.

Significant drought relief is not anticipated for the northern U.S. Plains and extreme southern Prairies this month.