Weather & Climate Reports
These reports are written and published by Dr. Gregory Jones. They provide a synopsis of recent weather conditions and trends with forecasts for the coming months.
August 2026
“Heading into ripening and harvest, the seasonal forecast for the western US also continues to call for warm and mostly dry…” View Report
July 2026
“While the second half of June was mostly unseasonably cool, the month ended up mostly warmer than average over the western US…” View Report
June 2026
“Temperatures in May 2026 were mostly warmer than average in the western US. Overall, the western US saw most regions experiencing May temperatures that were 0.5-2.5 degrees above average…” View Report
April 2026
“A high pressure area dominated the western US in March, with most of the region experiencing one of the warmest March months on record…” View Report
March 2026
“The overall warm winter continued over the western US in February. The central and northern Rockies, along with the western Plains, saw the warmest temperatures with departures 5-15°F above average for the month. West coast states of Washington, Oregon, and California were also warmer than average, but more in the 1-3 degree range…” View Report
February 2026
“After some precipitation in the first week of January, the month turned very dry with most regions seeing no precipitation over the last 25 days of the month…” View Report
January 2026
“The very warm first 20 days of December 2025 kept the month warmer than average over the western US…” View Report
November 2025
“Overall, November is forecast to end up near average to warmer than normal for most regions of the West. The month is forecast to bring above average precipitation likely across the PNW into northern California, while most other areas have equal chances or likely below normal precipitation for the month…” View Report
October 2025
“Warmer than average September across most of the western US, with the PNW and northern Rockies seeing temperatures 2°F to over 8°F above average…” View Report
August 2025
“The western US experienced a mixed July temperature pattern with the PNW and Rockies seeing warmer than average temperatures and California and the Basin seeing cooler than average temperatures. For California, the summer has brought very cool, windy, and persistent marine layer clouds. These conditions have resulted from a region of anomalous and persistent high pressure…” View Report
July 2025
“Even with a very cool and moderately wet period in the third week in June, the month ended up largely warm and dry over most of the western US. Most regions saw temperatures from 1-5°F above average…” View Report
June 2025
“May 2025 was largely warm and dry over the western US. While areas in the Rockies across the northern plains experienced temperatures 4-7 degrees above average, the majority of the west saw temperatures 0.5-2.5 degrees above average…” View Report
May 2025
“April brought largely warmer than average temperatures to the western US. Most regions experienced temperatures during April that were from 0.5-3.0 degrees above average…” View Report
April 2025
“The March forecast flipped from the expected pattern of a cool north and warm south, resulting in cooler temperatures across California (0.5-2.0 degrees below average)…” View Report
March 2025
“The forecast for February held to a cool and wet month in the PNW and northern states and a dry month in California and the southwest. However, portions of California and the Basin were warmer than forecast…” View Report
February 2025
“After a relatively warm and wet December, January turned cooler and generally drier over the western US…” View Report
January 2025
“December over the western US was warmer than normal, although much cooler than December 2023…” View Report
November 2024
“October continued a run of very nice conditions to end the 2024 vintage. Generally mild to warm temperatures and not much precipitation until late in October made for a vintage with little to no pressure to pick until the fruit was showing its best flavors and acidity. Overall, October 2024 was largely warmer than normal over the western US…” View Report
September 2024
“August brought a mixed bag of early and late warmer than average temperatures with a fall-like storm and very cool temperatures during the third week of the month that resulted in mountain snow across portions of the Cascades and Sierra Nevada mountains…” View Report
July 2024
“June 2024 was dominated by a heat dome over much of the southern, central, and eastern US that resulted in the majority of the country ending up substantially warmer than average. The warmest conditions were seen across California, the Great Basin, Rockies, and Plains…” View Report
June 2024
“A warmer than average month was experienced over northern California, south into the central valley, and into portions of the southwest. Cooler than average temperatures ranging from 2-4 degrees were experienced in the central portions of the west…” View Report
May 2024
“April 2024 was relatively mild over much of the western US with temperatures largely between +/- 2 degrees from normal. A cooler than average month was experienced over southern California and the southwest with the spatial pattern similar to the cloud cover and precipitation seen in the region…” View Report
April 2024
“After a broadly warmer than average first few months of the year, March turned mostly cooler for the western US…” View Report
March 2024
“February 2024 brought significant changes in the winter precipitation pattern over the west with the jet stream dipping further south bringing significant moisture to California and into the Great Basin and Rockies…” View Report
September 2023
“While temperatures were mostly warmer than average for August, tropical storm Hilary kept portions of the west cooler than average and pushed large amounts of moisture northward from California into the Great Basin, Idaho, and northern Rockies. All the while, the Bay Area, North Coast, and western Oregon and Washington were extremely dry…” View Report
August 2023
“The heat wave in July resulted in an overall warmer than average month for the western US. Temperatures in July were 1-5°F above average for much of the west, while areas in the southwest were mostly 5-7°F above average…” View Report
June 2023
“May saw temperatures much above normal across the PNW and northern portions of the western US, while California and other southern areas were near normal or below normal…” View Report
April 2023
“March continued the run of strong north-south meridional circulation over the eastern North Pacific and western US. The North Pacific high-pressure area has remained hundreds of miles to the west of its normal position, allowing flow out of the Gulf of Alaska to dip south along the west coast…” View Report
February 2023
“A train of atmospheric rivers dominated the western US weather during January. The events were not well forecast because they were driven by strong Arctic influences from record warmth in Siberia to a record-breaking cold outbreak over eastern North America…” View Report
January 2023
“A record-breaking cold Artic outbreak dominated much of the country in the second half of December. For the western US temperatures ended the month near average to below average with the coldest areas being the inland PNW and the Great Plains…” View Report
November 2022
“October continued the warm and dry end of the growing season across most of the west. Temperatures for the month were 2-8 degrees above average for most areas…” View Report
October 2022
“A warm and dry September was had by many across the western US. Temperatures ranged from near average in some isolated areas along the coast, to mostly 2-7 degrees above average…” View Report
September 2022
“The forecast for August held to warmer and drier for much of the west and the continued monsoon precipitation in the southwest and Great Basin …” View Report
June 2022
“Continued cold north and warm south for the month of May. The winter-like circulation stayed with us largely throughout May bringing the second cooler than average month for the northern states in the western US with between 2-7 degrees below average temperatures…” View Report
May 2022
“April 2022 was much cooler than average for all locations north of the Bay Area with many areas experiencing the coldest April since 2010. Widespread frost was experienced over most of the western US wine regions….” View Report
April 2022
“Much of the west saw warmer than average temperatures in March, except for the Rockies which were largely cooler than average. Overall dry conditions continued during March with only a few locations across the west seeing much precipitation…” View Report
March 2022
“A warm January gave way to a cooler than average February for most of the west. Portions of California, especially the northern part of the state, and the Cascades were near average to warmer than normal but most everywhere else experienced a cool February…” View Report
February 2022
“January was largely warmer than normal over the western US with most of California, Oregon, western Washington, the southwest, and Rockies near average to above average…” View Report
January 2022
“The month of December saw temperatures that were near average to cooler than average along the coastal zones, into the northern Cascades, and eastern Montana, to warmer than average inland and across to the Rockies…” View Report
November 2021
“While the cool October was forecast, the pleasant surprise was the active storm track across the PNW and northern California which brought an end to the fire season. Temperatures were near average in the inland PNW and Rockies, but generally cooler than average elsewhere…” View Report
October 2021
“Generally warm across the west in September, although frontal passages and rain events lowered temperatures to near average for portions of the PNW. Over the western US, temperatures were 1-4°F above average for the month, yet coastal zones in Washington, Oregon, the Bay Area, and southern California continued to experience near average temperatures due to enhanced marine layers from cooler SSTs…” View Report
September 2021
“While not as warm as July, August continued the generally warm conditions experienced this summer, especially in Washington, Oregon, and California. Monsoon flow from the southwest and a few low-pressure areas dropping out of Canada kept temperatures closer to average or below average for much of inland areas of the western US…” View Report
August 2021
“July continued the overall warm conditions experienced this summer with the bulk of the western US above average. High pressure dominated the month with heat dome events elevating daytime temperatures and enhanced monsoon flow elevating humidity levels and nighttime temperatures…” View Report
June 2021
“Extreme heat started off June with a bang but will likely cool to average through mid-month then elevate to moderate to extreme warmth later in the month. The only precipitation events appear to be small frontal passages in the extreme PNW, or some eastside thunderstorms, which no one wants to see right now…!” View Report
May 2021
“Mild start to May will likely hold for most through mid-month then moderate warming later in the month. While there appear to be a few systems that may bring precipitation to the PNW, not much likely south into California and the southwest…” View Report
April 2021
“A relatively mild start to April will give way to relatively a cool month for most of the west. A few systems may bring precipitation to the PNW, but doubtful for much of anything south into California and the southwest. Continuing from last month, for April the east is forecast to be warm while the west is likely cool…” View Report
March 2021
“Drought concerns continue over the west with over 65% of the region in severe to exceptional drought. A mild start to March will give way to what looks like a cool month for most of the west. Some precipitation in play for everyone, including California, although amounts are not expected to be much more than close to average for the month…” View Report
February 2021
“The dry and warm January in California has brought back drought concerns, while a wet January has alleviated some of the concern of drought in the PNW. The short-term forecast is pointing to a cold period with possible low elevation snow as Arctic air fills in over central North America. Models indicate that these conditions will likely last through the rest of the month…” View Report
January 2021
“The forecast for the second half of winter continues to be strongly influenced by La Niña conditions in the Tropical Pacific. As such, the PNW across the northern states are forecast to be near average to slightly cool and wet, and California and the central to southern states are forecast to be warm and dry…” View Report