Extratropical Highlights –June 2022

 

1. Northern Hemisphere

The 500-hPa circulation during June featured predominantly near-normal heights for most of the middle latitudes, above-average heights along the Arctic Circle, and moderate below-average heights in the North Pacific Ocean, Greenland, and Russia (Fig. E9). The main land-surface temperature signals during June were above-average temperatures across most of North America and Eurasia (Fig. E1). The main precipitation signals included above-average totals in eastern Asia, Russia, and the Southwest U.S., and below-average totals in Alaska, the eastern half of the U.S., and parts of Eurasia (Fig. E3).

 

a. North America

The 500-hPa circulation during June featured near-normal heights for much of the continent.  Moderate above-average heights were observed over the contiguous U.S. and much of Alaska (Fig. E9). These height patterns were associated with ridging that brought above-average temperatures to the central and eastern U.S., where temperatures exceeded the 70th and 90th percentiles in those regions, and in Alaska (Fig. E1).  The central U.S. experienced 5 consecutive days of heat advisories during the middle of June.  For Alaska and much of the eastern half of the U.S. the precipitation totals for June were below-average, and in some areas, like Texas, precipitation totals were well below-average, reaching the lowest 20th percentile of occurrences (Figs. E3, E5, E6). Above-average rainfall was observed in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.  June is the typical month for the yearly onset of the Southwestern Monsoon and this year the June precipitation totals associated with the monsoon were well above average and exceeded the 80th percentile of occurrences (Figs. E5, E6).

 

b. Eurasia

The 500-hPa height pattern featured above-average heights from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean Sea and below-average heights over the Ural Mountains (Fig. E9). The ridging pattern ushered in well-above average temperatures for Europe, Russia and Asia (Fig. E1). For Europe and Asia, temperatures exceeded the 90th percentile of occurrences (Fig. E1).  Precipitation totals were well above average for much of China (Figs. E3, E4) and Russia, reaching the 90th percentile of occurrences (Fig. E3).  Below-average precipitation totals were recorded for Northern and Southern Europe as well as parts of western and southern Russia, and Southeast Asia (Figs. E3, E4).

 

2. Southern Hemisphere

The mean 500-hPa circulation during June featured well above-average heights over the South Pole, the South Pacific Ocean, the southeastern portion of the Indian Ocean, and over the Southern Ocean between Africa and Antarctica, and below-average heights south of Australia, the Bellingshausen Sea, South Atlantic Ocean, and southwestern portion of the Indian Ocean (Fig. E15).  Observed temperatures for much of South America, Africa, and Australia were predominantly near-normal with above-average temperatures in localized areas of Brazil, the Sahel and Western Australia, and below-average temperatures in localized areas near Uruguay, Namibia, and Queensland (Fig. E1). In the Sahel and Southern Africa, precipitation totals were above-average, exceeding the 90th percentile of occurrences, while precipitation was near normal in Australia, and below-average in northern and southern countries of South America (Figs. E3, E4).