STATE COLLEGE, Pa., March 17 (UPI) -- Storms and tornadoes in the United States will come later in the spring than usual in 2014, the weather service Accuweather.com predicted Monday.
Severe weather generally increases in the spring, but it is not expected until the end of spring in 2014, Accuweather.com said. An increase in damaging thunderstorms, including those which can cause tornadoes, is anticipated for May and June.
Last year, a dip of strong winds high in the atmosphere, known as a jet stream trough, kept the United States relatively warm through March and April, and led to a lower-than-average severe weather season.
"This year the ground is colder, the Great Lakes have an extensive amount of ice and the Gulf of Mexico waters are starting off colder than average. All of these can have a negative impact on temperatures in the lower atmosphere," Accuweather.com's Paul Pastelok said.
He said he expects Oklahoma, western Arkansas, western Louisiana and portions of Texas, though, to get off to a typical spring start, with warm temperatures and the possibility of severe weather in March and April. The long-term forecast also includes floods in the Tennessee and Ohio valleys.
"We expect a normal to perhaps an above-average amount of severe thunderstorms over the central states during May and June," Dan Kottlowski of Accuweather.com added.
