Seasonal Forecasts

Temperature and precipitation outlooks on seasonal (multi-month) timescales.

Forecast

Current seasonal temperature and precipitation outlook maps and discussion. Released on or about the 15th of each month.

Using the forecast maps

Use the controls above each map to choose what it shows. On the seasonal page you can pick the forecast Source, the Type (precipitation or temperature) and the date the forecast was issued. On the subseasonal page you pick the Type, then the year, month and day of issue. The map updates as soon as you change a setting. The box of buttons on the map switches between the forecast periods in that issuance: target seasons on the seasonal map, forecast periods on the subseasonal map. The title changes to match the period you pick. You can zoom with the scroll wheel or the +/– buttons and drag to move around the map. Download PNG saves the period currently shown as an image, with its title and legend.

CCSR/IRI NMME Multi-Model Probability Forecast for Precipitation for
July-August-September Issued June 2018
Probability (%) of Most Likely Category
Below Normal
40
45
50
60
70+
Normal
40+
Above Normal
40
45
50
60
70+
Dry Season (No Forecast) Equal Odds

June 2018 Climate Forecast Discussion

June 2018 Climate Forecast Discussion for Jul-Sep through Oct-Dec

The SST forecast shows weak El Nino conditions developing for the initial Jul-Sep season, slowly intensifying to moderate strength (>1.0C in the Nino3.4 region) by Oct-Dec. Much of the subtropical and extratropical North Atlantic, and the North Pacific SST, as well as the SST in much of the mid-latitude Southern Hemisphere, are predicted to be above average during all four forecast seasons. An exception is noted in the high latitude southeast Pacific waters in the Southern Hemisphere and the high latitude waters around North America, which are predicted to be below average during all four forecast seasons. A very slightly positive Indian Ocean Dipole in Jul-Sep is predicted to strengthen to become moderately strongly positive by Oct-Dec. Near-average SST is predicted for the tropical Atlantic for Jul-Sep through Oct-Dec.

Strongly enhanced probabilities for below-normal precipitation are predicted for Central America and the Caribbean islands for Jul-Sep through Sep-Nov, Indonesia for July-Sep through Oct-Dec, and for part of northern South America for Aug-Oct through Oct-Dec. A tilt of the odds toward below-normal is also predicted for varying parts of Australia for Jul-Sep through Oct-Dec, and central Africa for Oct-Dec. Enhanced chances for above-normal precipitation are forecast for parts of the African Sahel and Gulf of Guinea for Jul-Sep and Aug-Oct, for eastern equatorial Africa for Aug-Oct through Oct-Dec, for the southern U.S. and/or Mexico for Sep-Nov and Oct-Dec, and for central-southwest Asia and part of northern Asia for Sep-Nov and Oct-Dec.

Enhanced probabilities for above-normal temperature are predicted for Greenland, and for varying parts of Asia, Europe, northern Africa, North America and South America from Jul-Sep through Oct-Dec. A tilt of the odds toward above-normal is also predicted for parts of Australia from Aug-Oct through Oct-Dec, most strongly for the last two periods. Enhanced probabilities for below-normal temperature are relatively scant, but do appear in part of northern North America and part of northern Asia in Sep-Nov and Oct-Dec. An enhanced likelihood for near-normal temperature is predicted for small parts of northeastern South America and central and northwestern Africa mainly for Jun-Aug and Jul-Sep.

Citation

Kirtman, B., D. Min, J. Infanti, J. Kinter, D. Paolino, Q. Zhang, H. van den Dool, S. Saha, M. Mendez, E. Becker, P. Peng, P. Tripp, J. Huang, D. DeWitt, M. Tippett, A. Barnston, S. Li, A. Rosati, S. Schubert, M. Rienecker, M. Suarez, Z. Li, J. Marshak, Y. Lim, J. Tribbia, K. Pegion, W. Merryfield, B. Denis, and E. Wood, 2014: The North American Multimodel Ensemble: Phase-1 Seasonal-to-Interannual Prediction; Phase-2 toward Developing Intraseasonal Prediction. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 95, 585–601, doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-12-00050.1.