NOAA August 2026 Outlook: Southeast Bakes While the Southwest Gets Soaked

The NOAA August 2026 outlook, released by the Climate Prediction Center on July 16, sends a mixed message depending on where you live. Much of the eastern and south-central United States should expect a hot month, while the West could see a boost in monsoon moisture.

• Related: El Niño 2026-27 Is Accelerating. NOAA’s July Ski Forecast Has New Winners and Clearer Losers

The outlook comes as El Niño holds on in the tropical Pacific. Weekly sea surface temperatures in the benchmark Niño 3.4 region sat 1.3 degrees Celsius above normal last week, putting the event at moderate strength. Forecasters also factored in a stalled Madden-Julian Oscillation, a wave of tropical rainfall and wind that circles the globe, along with shifting patterns in the Arctic Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation and Pacific North American index. Of those signals, El Niño carried the most weight in shaping the outlook.

Temperature

What the NOAA August 2026 Outlook Means for Temperatures

The Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic have the best odds for above-normal heat this August, with confidence topping 50 percent. Dry soil and warm coastal waters are feeding that signal, and both government and university climate models back it up.

The Southern Plains also lean warm, with roughly a 40 percent chance of above-normal temperatures. That tracks with typical El Niño patterns for the region. A smaller but still notable chance of heat, between 33 and 50 percent, stretches up the East Coast.

Out west, the odds favor warmth too. The Pacific Northwest and the California coast both carry a modest above-normal signal, though forecasters kept the numbers conservative because cooler ocean water off both coastlines is working against the warming trend.

The one region bucking the heat is the Northern Plains, where forecasters give a 33 to 40 percent chance of below-normal temperatures. That call leans on cooler historical patterns tied to past El Niño years, though the signal isn’t backed strongly by computer models, so confidence stays modest.

The interior Southwest sits in “equal chances” territory, meaning forecasters see no clear lean toward warm, cool or average conditions there. Competing signals, cooler analog years pulling one way and warmer model guidance pulling the other, canceled each other out.

Alaska’s Temperature Trend This August

In Alaska, most of the state south of the North Slope leans warm, while the North Slope itself sits in equal chances because sea ice there is running above normal for this time of year.

Precipitation

What the NOAA August 2026 Outlook Means for Rainfall

Two stretches of the country stand out for wetter-than-normal odds. The first covers much of the interior West, including the Great Basin, the Southwest, the Northern and Central Rockies and the Northern High Plains. Forecasters see this as an early signal for an active monsoon season, with chances of above-normal rain running 33 to 50 percent, highest over the Four Corners region and adjacent Rockies.

The second wet zone runs from the Northern Plains into the Middle Mississippi Valley, where above-normal precipitation odds sit around 33 to 40 percent.

On the dry side, the Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic face the best odds for a below-normal month, reaching as high as 50 percent chance in parts of the Carolinas. Already-dry soil in the region is helping drive that forecast. A lighter dry signal, 33 to 40 percent, covers the Great Lakes.

The Southern Plains carry no clear signal this time. Typical El Niño patterns point toward wetter conditions there, but recent trends and some model guidance argue for drier weather instead, so the outlook lands on equal chances.

The Pacific Northwest and Southeast Alaska also lean slightly dry, with a 33 to 40 percent chance of below-normal precipitation, based largely on recent trends and short-range model guidance rather than a strong El Niño connection.

Most of mainland Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula lean wet, with odds of above-normal rainfall running 33 to 50 percent, supported by both recent trends and El Niño’s typical influence on the state.

What it means

Drought, Wildfire, and Ski Season Implications

An enhanced monsoon signal across the Southwest and Rockies is good news for wildfire risk and water supply heading into late summer, while the dry lean over the Southeast adds to concerns about drought expanding in a region already running short on soil moisture. Meanwhile, the warm outlook stretching from the Gulf Coast to the mid-Atlantic points toward a hot end to summer for tens of millions of people.

The Climate Prediction Center updates its monthly outlooks throughout the year, and the picture for August could still shift as El Niño’s strength and the behavior of the MJO become clearer in the coming weeks.

Full NOAA Discussion

Prognostic Discussion for Monthly Outlook 
NWS Climate Prediction Center College Park MD 
830 AM EDT Thu Jul 16 2026 
 
 
30-DAY OUTLOOK DISCUSSION FOR AUG 2026 
 
The outlooks for August 2026 are issued against the backdrop of an El Niño 
Advisory, meaning that El Niño conditions are present and expected to 
continue. The latest weekly observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the 
Niño 3.4 region were 1.3 degrees Celsius above normal, consistent with an El 
Niño of moderate strength. Meanwhile, the eastward progression of the Madden 
Julian Oscillation (MJO) is currently stalled, but is expected to resume before 
gradually disorganizing in late July. This weakening MJO may destructively 
interfere with the background El Niño state as it approaches the Indian Ocean 
near the beginning of August. In the extratropics, the Arctic Oscillation (AO) 
has been positive in early July but has trended to near zero in recent days. 
After a brief dip, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) has returned to the 
positive phase, while the Pacific North American (PNA) index has trended 
negative. A nearest neighbor analysis of the recent evolution of the El Niño 
Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the MJO, and extratropical indices all played a 
role in the August Outlooks, with the greatest weight placed on ENSO impacts, 
due to large uncertainties in the MJO and extratropical signals . Antecedent 
conditions, such as extratopical SSTs and soil moisture conditions, were also 
considered where appropriate as were recent temperature and precipitation 
trends. Dynamical guidance from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), 
North American Multi-Model Ensemble (NMME), the Couple Forecast System Version 
2 (CFSv2), and the Forecast Consolidation Tool (CON) (which includes both 
dynamical model input and statistical guidance), also were significant 
contributors to the August outlooks, as was consistency with the most recent 
Weeks 3-4 Outlooks, which now extends through the first week of August. 
 
Above normal temperatures are favored for the eastern and south-central 
Contiguous United States (CONUS), the West Coast, the northwestern CONUS, and 
most of Alaska. Confidence is high (greater than 50 percent chance) for above 
normal temperatures across the Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic, where above 
normal SSTs in adjacent waters as well as dry soils favor warmer temperatures. 
Dynamical models such as the NMME and C3S also support above normal 
temperatures there. Above normal temperatures are also favored (greater than 40 
percent chance) across the Southern Plains, consistent with ENSO composites and 
trends. A tilt toward warmer then normal conditions (33 to 50 percent chance) 
extends northward along the East Coast due to support from NMME and C3S 
guidance. Similarly, there is a 33 to 50 percent chance of above normal 
temperatures for the northwestern CONUS due to strong dynamical model support. 
However, due to lack of statistical guidance support and below normal SSTs off 
the Pacific Northwest coast, enhanced above normal temperature probabilities 
were kept modest. A tilt toward above normal temperatures (33 to 40 percent 
chance) also extends southward along the California Coast as SSTs off the 
California Coast lean above normal. Below normal temperatures are favored (33 
to 40 percent chance) for the Northern Plains due to a strong cold signal from 
natural detrended ENSO analogs  with support from constructed analogs  from soil 
moisture (CAS). However, probabilities were kept modest due to a lack of 
dynamical model support.  Equal chances of above, below, and near normal 
temperatures (EC) are indicated for much of the interior southwestern CONUS, as 
cooler detrended ENSO composites and the prospects of above normal cloudiness 
and precipitation conflict with warmer dynamical model guidance. Above normal 
temperatures are weakly favored for most of Alaska south of the North Slope, 
consistent with the NMME. Natural ENSO analogs  favor warmth across southwestern 
Mainland Alaska and Southeast Alaska, however, below normal SSTs along much of 
the South Coast kept above normal temperature probabilities muted. EC is 
indicated for the North Slope of Alaska, as sea ice extent north of the state 
is currently above normal. 
 
Above normal precipitation chances are elevated across two main axes across the 
CONUS. The first axis is across much of the west associated with the potential 
for an enhanced monsoon. This wet signal has support from the C3S and CFSv2 as 
well as from ENSO composites and natural analogs  (except southern areas). 
Additionally, the most recent Weeks 3-4 Outlooks tilt wet across the Southwest 
and adjacent Great Basin. As such above normal precipitation is favored (33 to 
50 percent chance) across much of the Great Basin, Southwest, Central and 
Northern Rockies, and Northern High Plains. The second axis where above normal 
precipitation is favored (33 to 40 percent chance) extends from the Northern 
Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley. These elevated probabilities of above 
normal precipitation have support from ENSO composites and MJO natural analogs  
as well as the CAS tool. Probabilities were kept modest due to weak signals  
from dynamical model guidance. Below normal precipitation is favored (33 to 50 
percent chance) across parts of the Southeast and southern Mid-Atlantic, due to 
support from detrended ENSO composites, MJO natural analogs , and observed below 
normal soil moisture. A slight tilt (33 to 40 percent chance) toward below 
normal precipitation is also indicated for the Great Lakes region, with support 
from MJO and extratropical natural analogs  as well as the CON. Confidence is 
low across the Southern Plains as ENSO composites, trend, and to some extent, 
dynamical model guidance conflicts with strong wet signals  from MJO and 
extratropical natural analogs . Due to this conflicting guidance, EC has been 
issued for this region. A slight tilt (33 to 40 percent chance) toward below 
normal precipitation is indicated for parts of the Pacific Northwest and 
Southeast Alaska, due to support from trend, the NMME, CFSv2, and the latest 
Weeks 3-4 Outlooks. Probabilities were kept muted in these areas due to lack of 
ENSO support. Above normal precipitation is favored (33 to 50 percent chance) 
across most of Mainland Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula, due to strong support 
from trend and ENSO. However, due to lack of dynamical model support, 
probabilities were kept modest.