NATIONAL WEATHER SUMARY

JUNE 2024

2-8: Heat intensified in the Southwest, as a strengthening ridge of high pressure gripped areas west of the Rockies. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5 to 10°F above normal in most areas from Oregon and California eastward to central and southern sections of the Rockies and High Plains. Readings also averaged more than 5°F above normal in parts of the Northeast, especially northern New England. Meanwhile, near-normal temperatures were generally limited to the eastern Plains, lower Midwest, and Southeast, as well as areas along the Canadian border as far east as the Red River Valley of the North. Temperatures above 110°F were observed at lower elevations of the Desert Southwest, while triple-digit (100-degree) readings were scattered across Florida’s peninsula and extended as far north as southeastern Colorado. Hot weather persisted across southern Texas, where Brownsville reported highs of 100°F on June 5 and 7. Those two readings approached the station record for triple-digit temperatures in June (3 days in 1896, 1900, and 2019). Harlingen, TX, notched consecutive triple-digit, daily-record highs (100 and 101°F, respectively) on June 4 and 5. Elsewhere in Texas, Del Rio also logged a pair of daily record highs (109 and 107°F, respectively) on June 4-5. Heat made brief northward surges, both early and late in the week. On June 4, San Angelo, TX, collected a daily-record high of 111°F. Prior to 2023, that would have been the highest-ever June reading in San Angelo; however, June 2023 featured 4 days with higher temperatures, including a pair of 114-degree readings on the 20th and 21st. Several days later, on June 7, daily-record highs on the High Plains included 105°F in Dalhart, TX, and 102°F in Pueblo, CO. Western heat was more persistent and expansive, especially during the mid- to late-week period. In many areas, Western heat peaked on June 6 with daily-record highs of 122°F in Death Valley, CA; 113°F in Phoenix, AZ; and 111°F in Las Vegas, NV. In California, record-setting highs for June 6 soared to 115°F in Needles and 107°F in Fresno. Late in the week, heat lingered across the Intermountain West, where record-setting highs for June 8 reached 98°F in Grand Junction, CO, and 97°F in Winnemucca, NV. Grand Junction also noted a record high the following day (99°F on June 9). Meanwhile, much of Florida continued to experience extreme heat, following that state’s hottest May on record. Punta Gorda, FL, tied a June record with a high of 101°F on the 5th. Similarly, Winter Haven, FL (102°F on the 6th), experienced its hottest June day since June 17, 1985, when it was 103°F. By June 8, ongoing heat in the Gulf Coast States led to daily-record highs in locations such as Jacksonville, FL (99°F), and Baton Rouge, LA (98°F).

Cool weather and occasional showers engulfed much of Alaska, with warmth mainly confined to eastern parts of the state. In Kotzebue, maximum temperatures ranged from 35 to 37°F each day from June 4-6. Meanwhile, Bethel reported consecutive freezes (32 and 31°F, respectively) on June 4-5, with the latter reading tying a daily-record low.

9-15: Temperatures broadly averaged at least 5 to 10°F above normal as far east as the High Plains, including southern Montana, northeastern Colorado, and western sections of South Dakota and Nebraska. Conversely, near- or below-normal temperatures covered much of the eastern half of the country, with readings averaging as much as 5°F below normal in the Ohio Valley and the Great Lakes States. As the week began, heat lingered across Florida, where record-setting highs for June 9 reached 98°F in Leesburg and 97°F in Punta Gorda. A few additional daily-record highs occurred in Florida on June 10, when highs climbed to 97°F in Fort Pierce and 96°F in Vero Beach. Southern Texas also remained hot, with McAllen reporting a high temperature of 100°F or greater each day from June 5-16. McAllen’s heat included a trio of daily-record highs (104, 103, and 104°F) from June 11-13. Farther west, Grand Junction, CO, reported high temperatures ranging from 95 to 102°F each day from June 6-13. Grand Junction’s heat peaked on June 12-13, with respective daily-record highs of 102 and 101°F. Meanwhile in California, heat was most severe during the early- to mid-week period, with Red Bluff notching a pair of daily-record highs (105 and 107°F, respectively) on June 10- 11. During the second half of the week, extreme heat extended into the Southwest, where record-setting highs for June 13 included 109°F in El Paso, TX, and 105°F in Douglas, AZ. Concurrently, mid- to late-week heat across the nation’s midsection pushed temperatures to 100°F or higher as far north as western and southern Nebraska. On June 12, Scottsbluff, NE, noted a daily-record high of 101°F. The following day, record-setting highs for June 13 soared to 107°F in Roswell, NM; 105°F in Dalhart, TX; and 103°F in Pueblo, CO. In contrast, readings below 40°F in portions of the upper Great Lakes region resulted in scattered frost. Spotty temperatures below 40°F were also observed across the northern Plains and Northwest. In northern Minnesota, June 10 lows of 32°F in Hibbing and 33°F in International Falls narrowly missed tying records for the date.

16-22: Repeated thunderstorms struck the upper Midwest, submerging fields, closing rural roads, resulting in pockets of record river flooding. A portion of the upper Midwestern deluge originated in the tropics, including moisture associated with the remnants of Tropical Storm Alberto. On June 20, Alberto moved inland near Tampico, Mexico, with heavy showers extending northward into southern Texas.

the moisture was guided around the periphery of a large dome of high pressure, which broadly contributed to hot, mostly dry weather from the southeastern Plains and midSouth into the mid-Atlantic, lower Midwest, and interior Southeast. Rain was also fueled by the stark boundary between chilly conditions across the northern Plains and interior Northwest, and blazing heat from the central Plains into the Northeast. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5°F below normal in many areas from the northern Rockies to the northern High Plains. Generally cool weather also covered the northern Great Basin. In contrast, readings averaged more than 10°F above normal in numerous locations from the central Corn Belt into the lower Great Lakes region. In the hottest, driest areas of the central and eastern Corn Belt, summer crops began to experience significant stress due to reductions in soil moisture and unusually high temperatures. As the week began, heat pushed northward across the High Plains, resulting in record-setting highs for June 16 in locations such as Roswell, NM (107°F) and Goodland, KS (101°F). Soon, hot weather arrived in parts of the Midwest and the lower Great Lakes region, where dailyrecord highs for June 17 soared to 97°F in Chicago, IL, and 96°F in Cleveland, OH. In Pennsylvania, Dubois twice tied in monthly record— originally set on June 30, 1969—with highs of 92°F on June 18 and 22. Heat also surged into the Northeast, where daily-record highs in Maine for June 19 reached 97°F in Millinocket and 96°F in Caribou. The reading in Caribou tied a monthly record most recently achieved on June 19, 2020. Elsewhere in New England, record-setting highs for June 19 climbed to 98°F in Boston, MA, and 97°F in Hartford, CT. Hartford logged another daily-record high, with 98°F, on June 20. Late in the week, heat became more focused across the middle Atlantic States, while the hot spell broke in New England. Newark, NJ, collected a daily record-tying high of 100°F on June 21. Williamsport, PA, recorded a maximum reading of 90°F or higher each day from June 17-23, with the temperature peaking at 98°F, a record for the date, on June 21. By June 22, triple-digit, dailyrecord highs affected cities such as Reading, PA, and Baltimore, MD, with both locations reaching 101°F. For Reading, it was the first 100-degree reading in June since June 26, 1952, when it was 102°F. For Baltimore, it was the first triple-digit reading in June since June 29, 2012, when the high rose to 103°F. Late-week heat also baked the Southwest, where dailyrecord highs included 117°F (on June 21) in Phoenix, AZ, and 105°F (on June 22) in Campo, CA. In stark contrast, cool air gripped the Northwest for much of the week, starting with daily-record lows of June 16 in McCall, ID (28°F); Alturas, CA (30°F); and Yakima, WA (35°F). Two days later, on the 18th, hard freezes and daily-record lows affected Nevada locations such as Eureka (22°F) and Ely (23°F). Freezes (and daily-record lows) occurred on June 19 in Pocatello, ID (31°F), and Worland, WY (32°F). On the same date in Montana, daily-record lows dipped to 33°F in Stanford, Choteau, and Cut Bank. Another daily-record low (34°F) was observed in Cut Bank on June 20.

23-27: Hot, dry weather increased crop and pasture stress in many areas from the south-central U.S. northeastward to the middle Atlantic Coast. Early-summer heat was particularly stressful for silking corn and other reproductive summer crops. Weekly temperatures averaged 5 to 10°F above normal in many areas from California eastward to the central and southern Plains, and commonly averaged at least 5°F above normal from the Mississippi Delta to portions of the Atlantic Coast States— Georgia to New Jersey. In contrast, slightly below-normal temperatures were observed across the nation’s northern tier, from Montana into the upper Great Lakes region. The week began amid ongoing heat in the middle and southern Atlantic States; daily-record highs for June 23 reached 100°F in Jacksonville, FL, and Raleigh-Durham, NC. On June 22-23, Baltimore, MD, notched a pair of daily-record highs (101 and 98°F). Meanwhile, heat intensified across the South and reappeared in the West. Record-setting highs for June 23 soared to 109°F in Merced, CA; 101°F in Salt Lake City, UT; and 100°F in Greenville, MS. Greenville posted another daily-record high, 101°F, on June 25. Elsewhere in South, triple-digit, daily-record highs for June 24 included 100°F in Greenwood, MS, and Baton Rouge, LA. Early week heat also surged northward across the Plains, fueling daily-record highs for June 24 in Nebraska locations such as Imperial (105°F), Scottsbluff (104°F), and Lincoln (103°F). Extreme Southeastern heat lingered through the middle of the week; Alma, GA, collected consecutive daily-record highs (101 and 100°F, respectively) on June 25-26. Elsewhere on the 26th, daily-record highs soared to 104°F in Columbia, SC; 103°F in Raleigh-Durham, NC; and 102°F in Macon, GA. Heat crept as far north as the southern Corn Belt, where daily record highs in Missouri climbed to 103°F (on the 25th) in St. Louis and 100°F (on the 24th) in Joplin. There was little relief at night from the heat; in Kentucky, monthly records were tied or broken on June 29 with minimum temperatures of 83°F in Louisville and 79°F in Frankfort. Only one time, on August 19, 1936, was Louisville’s low temperature greater than 83°F. Late in the week, cool air returned across the Northwest, with daily-record lows for June 29 being set in locations such as Casper, WY (37°F), and Great Falls, MT (39°F). 

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com