The National Weather Service (NWS) says summertime in much of the country, including Georgia and the rest of the southeast, is likely to be something of a mirror to what we endured last year: unusually hot.
The weather service issued its first outlook for summer earlier this week, focusing on May, June and July. Still to come, the forecast for August.
But first things first.
While New Mexico and Texas are expected to bear the brunt of summer’s heat again this year, the rest of the country will not be immune.
Closer to home, forecasters say Georgia will be a “house divided,” with most of the northern part of the state dealing with temperatures “very likely above average” roughly along and north of a line from Augusta to Macon to Columbus. The rest of the state falls into the “likely above average” category.
Last year the average temperature for Gainesville was about two degrees above normal for most of the summer. Stats show just how hot summer was, locally and globally 97.5 Glory FM | North Georgia’s Family Radio Station (wgtjradio.com)
Summer officially starts June 20, with the summer solstice but for those who study such things for a living and are responsible for these forecasts, the season (the climatological summer) begins June 1.