Projected Temperatures and Precipitation for the Spring and Summer Months

 This Climate Highlight is focused on the temperatures and precipitation amounts for the months to come in 2002.  The anomalies below are based upon three different sets of criteria.  A ninety day period was examined form November 1st to January 31st; in this period a few years were chosen for their exceptionally mild temperatures, a few were chosen for their dry period, and the last couple of years were chosen according to their similarity to the 500 milibars geo-potential heights of January 2002.  The first image is an image of the predicted temperatures for March to May.  It appears that they will be well below normal for much of Pennsylvania.   In figure 2 the map shows that much of Pennsylvania will receive average amounts of precipitation from March to May.  Some areas in the southeastern and northeastern portions of the state indicate slightly above normal amounts of precipitation. 

Figures three and four are based upon the same criteria, however the time frame ranges from June to August.  Figure three shows that above normal temperatures will be evident across the state, with temperatures increasing towards Eastern Pennsylvania.  The last figure indicates that average amounts of precipitation will occur across Pennsylvania, with the exception of slightly below average amounts of precipitation in the northeastern portions of the state.

Figure 3: