Meteorological summer starts Sunday along with hurricane season

Meteorological summer starts on Sunday. June, July and August will feature its usual periods of sweltering heat, severe weather, intense wildfires and the start of a dynamic hurricane season.

AccuWeather's Senior Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said temperatures as a whole from June through August will be above the historical average, especially in the West. 

Areas of the East that avoid the worst of the heat may face an uptick in showers and thunderstorms, including the risk of severe weather.

"The Gulf is warm and will lead to intense severe weather events into summer," Pastelok explained. The storms could be more frequent in June and July than they are in August, including the potential for intense groups of thunderstorms known as derechos.

Derechos unleash extreme winds over a large area, with the ability to level fields of corn, snap trees like twigs and cause power outages that last over a week. The zone that faces the highest risk of derechos includes the northern Plains, the Ohio Valley and the Tennessee Valley.

Later in the summer, tropical storms and hurricanes that make landfall can contribute to tornado activity.

The same warm water that will promote thunderstorms across the East could also fuel tropical storms or even hurricanes in the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic, especially in July and August.

A dynamic hurricane season is predicted for the Atlantic in 2025, and it could start quickly.

"Drought can improve quickly early in the summer from Florida to the Carolinas due to frequent cool fronts and tropical moisture," Pastelok said.

The same warm water that will promote thunderstorms across the East could also fuel tropical storms or even hurricanes in the Gulf, Caribbean and Atlantic, especially in July and August. There is also the chance that a storm will develop before the official start to the season, which is June 1.

AccuWeather is predicting 13 to 18 named storms, seven to 10 hurricanes and three to six direct U.S. impacts during the Atlantic hurricane season this year.


(AP Photo Matthias Shrader)