For many in the Great Plains, July was near normal to above normal, and in some cases, exceedingly wet. Yet, there was quite a large area (comparatively speaking) that did not benefit from the continued active weather pattern. Here is a look at the rainfall percent of normal for July....
This was a shift in the pattern from what had been a wet northeast Colorado, northwest Kansas and western Nebraska. However, so far in August this wet area has shifted back north. Now the question is will that continue as we transition into fall?
One good thing about the wetness across what had been the hardest hit area of the drought is that temperatures were highly mitigated due to the wet ground and lush vegetation,
The upper air map is illustrating an unusual southern shift in a relatively strong jet stream (compared to normal for August). Here is the map from this Thursday morning...
The shift can be tied to many things going on across the northern Hemisphere (namely areas of forcing and those teleconnections). This might be a clue going into the fall months and into winter/spring in what we can expect as the new weather pattern (2023/2024) begins to organize. This is and will be discussed at length in outlook reports that are sent to clients of Hutton Weather Futures. Consider joining those already subscribed that are informed to make business decisions from accurate long-range forecasts! Visit my website Hutton Weather Futures for additional information on how to subscribe.
