Summer 2020 Weather Outlook

Warm weather has arrived in the United States, but for some parts of the country, it feels like spring was skipped altogether. 

It feels like summer here in Salt Lake City, Utah, and other parts of the Southwest — like Arizona — have already recorded triple-digit temperatures this spring. 

Thankfully, the 2020 edition of AccuWeather’s annual summer forecast was just released, painting a good picture for us as to what summer 2020 may entail, weather-wise. 

According to AccuWeather veteran meteorologist Paul Pastelok, summer heat will pick up in June but won’t peak until the second half of summer, likely around the end of July or beginning of August. 

AccuWeather wrote in the summer 2020 weather outlook:

“Compared with the summer of 2019, which brought grueling heat at times with above-average temperatures for the season, the second half of summer 2020 is likely to be a little hotter. Temperatures are expected to average 1-3 degrees higher across the Northeast for the month of August compared to 2019 and closer to 1-2 degrees higher along the I-95 corridor throughout August, Pastelok said.

Once the hot weather arrives, the pattern may be tough to shake. Summer heat could persist well into September, said Pastelok, who’s been with AccuWeather for 28 years and in charge of long-range forecasting since 2011.”

Pastelok added that drought could develop in San Francisco and much of northern California by peak summer, and drought conditions could expand into the northern Rockies by late summer and possibly early fall. 

The persistent dry weather will also increase the likelihood of wildfires, with an early start expected for Northern California and the interior Northwest, according to Pastelok.