NASA sees warmer eastern U.S. summers

A NASA study suggests global warming may raise average summer temperatures in the eastern United States nearly 10 degrees Fahrenheit by the 2080s.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration scientists determined eastern U.S. summer daily high temperatures that currently average in the low-to-mid-80s Fahrenheit will most likely soar into the low-to-mid-90s by the 2080s. But during seasons with infrequent rainfall, July and August daily high temperatures could average between 100 and 110 degrees in cities such as Chicago, Washington and Atlanta.

The researchers, analyzing 30 years of data, determined Pacific Ocean surface temperatures have a significant influence on summer air temperatures in the eastern United States.

“Relatively cool waters in the eastern Pacific often result in stubborn summer high-pressure systems over the eastern states that block storms, reducing the frequency of precipitation below normal,” said study co-author Richard Healy of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Less frequent storms result in higher surface and atmospheric temperatures that then feed back on the atmospheric circulation to further reduce storm frequency and raise surface temperatures even more.”

Science Daily