Summer forecast: Spreading drought

[dArKeR]

Experts also expect above normal heat in many areas
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:59 a.m. ET May 27, 2004

WASHINGTON - The Western drought will probably spread this summer, government forecasters said Wednesday, and warmer than normal temperatures are expected in both the East and West.

The long-term forecast for June, July and August anticipates above normal temperatures for much of the West, the Southwest, the Rocky Mountain States, the southern Alaskan coast, the Southeast, Ohio Valley and the Northeast, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

Drier-than-average weather is forecast for the Pacific Northwest. That is likely to mean that Washington and parts of Oregon see drought develop during the summer, the agency said.

Douglas LeComte, drought specialist at the agency’s Climate Prediction Center, noted that recent rains have caused flooding in the Midwest and South, with rivers in 13 states either above flood stage or expected to rise above flood stage as of last Thursday.

Various parts of the eastern half of the nation have experienced intense flooding at this month.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5075974/