Delaware is expected to have a hotter and wetter summer than normal. The projection comes on the tail of a warmer-than-average spring.
This spring was Delaware’s eighth hottest on record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Three other northeast states experienced one of their top ten hottest March-May periods this year as well.
NOAA climatologist Ahira Sanchez-Lugo says the planet overall experienced a warmer spring than average, compared to temperatures from the late 1800s through the present.
“For the globe as a whole, this was the 8th warmest March through May period since records began in 1880,” she said during a presentation to the media last week. “That’s a total of 142 years of data.”
These trends are likely to continue.
Scott Handel, a meteorologist with NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said last week that much of the country—including Delaware—is predicted to have higher than normal temperatures next month. Even more of the country is projected to have higher than normal temperatures over the next three months, with the greatest certainty in the northeast and interior west.
NOAA’s seasonal forecast gives Delaware a 60-70% chance of higher than normal temperatures July through September, and a 40-50% percent chance of more precipitation than normal.
Drought is projected to continue to plague western states, but Delaware is not expected to face it.
