We've seen a little severe weather this season. We've had several episodes of above-average temperatures. One thing that's been lacking so far is cooler-than-normal temperatures. And don't look for much of that anytime soon!

The general weather pattern over the last two months has been for a ridge to build throughout the nation's midsection, with another off the eastern seaboard. From time to time, these features move a bit (like late April) and we get brief cool downs. Overall, there won't be much change in that general line of thinking.

We'll remain susceptible to bouts of heavy rainfall, as a strong jet will be nearby to our north for much of the summer. The other way we could get some heavy rain is from any remnant tropical system along the east coast (which don't look to be too frequent this year). Humidity will stay high more times than not, keeping nighttime lows above average. But when looking back once we get to September, we may likely find that our highs weren't too far away from average.

With an El Nino coming on as we get deeper into the summer, we may find a progressively cooler pattern once into the autumn season, but we'll talk about that down the road!

So in summary, expect a summer not as hot as the last two, but still warm enough to get in some swimming. And I don't believe we'll have to worry about drought watches over the next 3 months either. But don't look for the washout of a summer like we had back in 2009. Near-to-slightly above average temperatures and near-to-slightly above average rainfall - not a bad pattern!