June 2015 Climate Summary

Heavy rains continued to fall for some areas of the High Plains region. You can read part of what conditions were like below, or you can read the complete version here. 

Overview - A Switch to Warmer Weather

It was a month of extremes across the U.S. this June. After having their wettest month ever, Texas and Oklahoma were dealt another blow with flooding triggered by Tropical Storm Bill. Flooding also occurred in neighboring states as its remnants moved off to the north and east. On the other end of the spectrum, hot and dry weather continued in the West, while drought conditions started to emerge in portions of the Southeast. A strong ridge in the West brought record breaking warmth to the Pacific Northwest, with numerous shattered records. Preliminary data suggest that two locations in Washington set a new all-time record high for June of 113 degrees F (45.0 degrees C).

The strong ridge in the West impacted portions of the Missouri River Basin as areas of Wyoming, Montana, and northwestern Colorado had average temperatures in the 4.0-8.0 degrees F (2.2-4.4 degrees C) above normal range. Elsewhere across the High Plains region, temperatures were generally within 2.0 degrees F (1.1 degrees C) of normal, while larger departures on the warm side occurred in areas of Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming. Meanwhile, precipitation varied across the region with heavy precipitation falling in areas of southeast Nebraska, the Black Hills of South Dakota, and parts Colorado including the Four Corners area and some locations along the Front Range. Most other areas of the region were near normal, however most of Kansas, northwestern Colorado, and southwestern Wyoming largely missed out on precipitation this month.

The severe weather season continued with 980 reports across the High Plains region. Of this total 68 were tornado reports, 574 were hail reports, and 338 were wind reports. A notable event occurred during the afternoon and evening of June 27th in eastern North Dakota. According to the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, a tornado outbreak occurred with at least 19 confirmed tornadoes (18 in North Dakota and 1 in Minnesota). Luckily, these tornadoes tracked through open lands and did minimal damage.

Much more information is available in the PDF version of the summary including temperature and precipitation highlights, streamflow and drought updates, and a look at the upcoming season. Click here to read more!