NATIONAL WEATHER SUMMARY

JUNE 2025

1-7: areas east of the Rockies, rainfall was lighter (or non-existent) across the northern Plains, parts of the middle Atlantic States, and from southern Texas to the central Gulf Coast region. Mostly dry weather prevailed west of the Rockies, except in the Southwest. The Southwestern showers, although highly unusual for early June, provided only limited drought relief. Across much of California, the northern Great Basin, and the Northwest, hot, dry weather reduced topsoil moisture and increased irrigation demands. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5°F above normal in portions of the Pacific Coast States, as well as Nevada. Readings averaged as much as 5°F above normal in southern Texas. Late in the week, heat began to intensify across the West, boosting temperatures above 90°F at some inland locations as far north as Oregon and Washington. Meanwhile, weekly temperatures averaged more than 5°F below normal across portions of the High Plains, mainly from the northern panhandle of Texas into western Nebraska. Cooler-than normal conditions also covered parts of the middle Atlantic States. As June began, warmth across much of the western half of the U.S. contrasted with a lingering chill in the Midwest and Northeast. Daily-record highs for June 1 topped the 90-degree mark in locations such as Tooele, UT (94°F); Rapid City, SD (94°F); and Casper, WY (92°F). Farther east, however, Muskegon, MI (34°F on the 1st), experienced its fourth-lowest June temperature on record, only 3°F above the monthly standard of 31°F set on June 11, 1972. Elsewhere on June 1, daily-record lows dipped to 40°F in Cleveland, OH, and Parkersburg, WV. By June 2, warmth spread as far east as the upper Great Lakes States, where Hibbing, MN, posted a daily-record high of 86°F. By mid-week, the Northeast experienced sudden warmth, with daily-record highs for June 4 being reported in Watertown, NY (88°F), and Montpelier, VT (87°F). Northeastern heat lingered through June 5, when daily-record highs surged to 93°F in Poughkeepsie, NY, and 92°F in Augusta, ME. However, cool air replaced previously warm conditions on the Plains, where Valentine, NE, logged a daily record-tying low of 38°F on June 4. Late in the week, intensifying heat in the Northwest led to the first of three consecutive daily-record highs (97, 100, and 101°F from June 7-9) in Roseburg, OR. Meanwhile, lingering Eastern heat was confined to the southern Atlantic States, where Charleston, SC, collected a daily record-tying high of 96°F on June 7. In southern Texas, McAllen reported highs of 99°F or greater on each of the first 7 days of June, with the temperature peaking at 102°F (not a record for the date) on the 5th.

8-14: Hot, mostly dry weather prevailed west of the Rockies. Seasonably dry weather returned across the Southwest, following the previous week’s out-of-season showers. Although Western warmth and dryness favored fieldwork and crop development, agricultural concerns included reductions in topsoil moisture and increased irrigation demands. Weekly temperatures averaged at least 5 to 10°F above normal at many interior Western locations, with the most anomalous warmth concentrated across the northern half of the region. Meanwhile, mostly near-normal temperatures prevailed east of the Rockies, although cool weather (locally more than 5°F below normal) stretched from the eastern Dakotas into the upper Great Lakes region. Further east, general warmth covered the middle and southern Atlantic States. Early-week heat was prominent in the Northwest, where Roseburg, OR, tallied a trio of daily-record highs (97, 100, and 101°F) from June 7-9. The week began (on June 8-9) with consecutive daily-record highs in Oregon locations such as Eugene (94 and 96°F) and Hillsboro (96 and 95°F). On June 9, triple-digit, daily-record Northwestern highs included 104°F in Hermiston, OR, and 102°F in Yakima, WA. Hermiston logged another record, 101°F, on June 10. With a high of 104°F on June 9, Medford, OR, noted its highest June reading since the great heat wave of 2021, when the temperature soared to 115°F on the 28th. Heat spilled into Montana by June 9, when daily-record highs rose to 98°F in Havre and 94°F in Missoula. In Idaho, Stanley collected three consecutive daily-record highs (85, 86, and 84°F) from June 7-9. Record-setting highs in Utah for June 11 included 100°F in Tooele and 98°F in Salt Lake City. Around the middle of the week, heat briefly expanded into the Midwest, where Waterloo, IA, witnessed a daily-record high (96°F) for June 11. Late in the week, cool air overspread the North, where scattered daily-record lows for June 14 dipped to 33°F in Hibbing, MN, and 39°F in Quillayute, WA.

15-21: A ridge of high pressure expanding eastward from the western U.S. delivered increasingly hot weather to parts of the Plains and Midwest.

Weekly temperatures broadly averaged at least 5°F above normal from the Desert Southwest and the Four Corners region northeastward into the upper Great Lakes States. In fact, near- or above normal temperatures dominated the country, except in portions of the Pacific Coast States. As the week progressed, triple-digit temperatures spread northeastward across parts of the Plains, with readings topping the 100-degree mark as far north as South Dakota. Early-week heat was focused across the Southwest, where record-setting highs for June 15 soared to 115°F in Imperial, CA, and 111°F in Safford, AZ. Imperial achieved another daily-record high of 115°F on June 16, while El Paso, TX, opened the week with a pair of daily-record highs (109 and 108°F, respectively, on June 15 and 16). With a daily-record high of 101°F on June 16, Albuquerque, NM, reported its first triple digit reading since June 26, 2024. In contrast, lingering cloudiness and showers in the middle Atlantic States held June 15 high temperatures below the 70-degree mark in Delaware locations such as Wilmington (65°F) and Georgetown (68°F). During the second half of the week, record-setting heat shifted northeastward. By June 19, triple-digit, daily-record highs included 104°F in Salt Lake City, UT, and 102°F in Grand Junction, CO. Heat emerged across the Plains on June 20, when daily-record highs in Nebraska rose to 106°F in Imperial, 105°F in McCook, and 103°F in Chadron. Elsewhere, triple-digit, daily-record highs for June 20 included 106°F in Rapid City, SD, and 103°F in Pueblo, CO. Imperial noted 106°F again on June 21, tying a daily record that had been set in 1936. As heat overspread the western Corn Belt, daily-record highs for the 21st reached 104°F in Mitchell, SD, and 96°F in Minneapolis-St. Paul, MN. With a June 21 low of 80°F, Minneapolis-St. Paul also noted its earliest-ever minimum temperature of 80°F or higher. Meanwhile in Iowa, June 21 minima of 77°F in Mason City and Waterloo set or tied records for the month of June.

22-28: The center of the stubborn ridge, showers were less widespread—and heat was more intense. The record-shattering heat propelled weekly temperatures at least 5 to 10°F above normal from the southern and eastern Corn Belt into the middle Atlantic States and southern New England.

As the week progressed, an upper-level disturbance near the southern edge of the ridge contributed to locally heavy showers in the eastern Gulf Coast region and environs, including parts of Florida. Meanwhile, dry but seasonably cool weather covered most areas west of the Rockies. Despite the lack of extreme heat, several Western wildfires flared amid the dry weather and periods of gusty winds. Near the end of June, three active Western wildfires—two in Utah and one in New Mexico—had each burned between 10,000 and 50,000 acres of vegetation. Farther east, however, cloudiness and drought-easing showers contributed to cooler-than-normal conditions in the southern Rockies. At the height of the Eastern hot spell, numerous June temperature records were tied or broken. Plattsburg, NY, tied an all-time station record on June 23 with a high of 101°F. On the 24th, June records were achieved in locations such as Newark, NJ (103°F); Boston, MA (102°F); and New York’s JFK Airport (102°F). JFK Airport had never attained a triple-digit reading during June, with a previous peak of 99°F on June 30, 1964, and several earlier dates. Augusta, ME, also collected its first 100-degree reading in June, peaking at 100°F on the 24th. The only other instance of a reading of 100°F in Augusta was August 5, 1955. With a high of 101°F on June 24, Philadelphia, PA, noted its first triple-digit heat since July 18, 2012, and experienced its first 100-degree reading in June since 1994. Georgetown, DE (101°F on June 25), logged its earliest-ever temperature above the 100-degree mark, previously set with a high of 101°F on June 29, 2012. Uncomfortable heat continued through the overnight hours, with Grand Rapids, MI, failing to fall below 80°F on a June day for the first time on record. Grand Rapids’ minimum temperature of 80°F, which occurred on June 22, supplanted the station’s June record of 79°F, set on June 20, 1953. In Wisconsin, the 22nd featured the highest June minimum temperatures in locations such as La Crosse (80°F) and Green Bay (79°F). On June 23, lows of 79°F set or tied monthly records in Alpena, MI, and Wallops Island, VA. In contrast, chilly air briefly settled across the West. In Nevada, freezes and daily-record lows were observed on June 22 in locations such as Eureka (24°F), Ely (25°F), and Winnemucca (29°F). On June 23, record-setting lows dipped to 32°F in Casper, WY, and Pocatello, ID. From June 22-26, Lake Yellowstone, WY, reported five consecutive freezes, including a low of 26°F on the 24th. < 

 

Jim G. Munley, jr.
http://www.jimmunleywx.com