While May 2020 precipitation deficits drew parts of the West deeper into drought, parts of the Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley, and the Southeast got soaked.
But the month capped off the 10th-warmest January-April period on record.
Spring 2020 brings rare ozone “hole” to the Arctic
April 21, 2020
Most of the United States was warmer than average. Wet conditions in March eased drought concerns in Southern California, but extreme dryness around the Gulf Coast raised the chances of drought there.
Much of the Southeast experienced extremely wet conditions last month, while almost all of California and parts of Oregon and Nevada were either much drier than average or record dry.
Although exact temperatures varied by latitude and elevation, January 2020 temperatures were above average for nearly every U.S. climate division of the Lower 48 states.
Across a wide swath of the United States from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic, February is more likely to be above average than below average in terms of both temperature and precipitation.
NOAA, NASA scientists confirm Earth’s long-term warming trend continues. The average surface temperature was more than 2 degrees (F) above pre-industrial conditions.
Catastrophic wildfires in southeastern Australia in 2019-20
January 3, 2020