June Weather: What to Watch Out For and Look Forward To

Summer showers will bring heavy rain, flooding, frequent lightning, hail and tornadoes this month, but bigger changes like the monsoon and tropical systems also lurk. 

(MORE: Meteorological Summer Has Begun, But Was This a Year Without Spring?)

Here are a few things that you can expect and look forward to in the month ahead. 

Hurricane Season Begins

While some recent hurricane seasons have begun before calendar said they were supposed to, June is the first official month of hurricane season in the Atlantic. 

On average, there's one June named storm in the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico every one to two years. We typically see about one hurricane every five years. 

These storms that do form typically stay close to home and often affect the Southeastern United States, the western Caribbean and Central America. Storms this early in the season are generally known for their rainfall moreso than their winds. 

Two of the more notable storms in June were Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and Hurricane Agnes in 1972. 

Allison made landfall as a low-end 50 mph tropical storm near Freeport, Texas, and quickly weakened to a tropical depression, but lingered for days in the Houston metro area, resulting in severe flooding.

Agnes made landfall in Florida, but its legacy is linked to its second wind as a tropical storm, when it curled northwestward toward New York City and stalled over the Northeast, producing flooding rainfall in the interior Northeast.

(MORE: Tropical Depression and Storm Formation in June)

Summer Lightning Activity Kicks Up A Notch

Warm, moist air continues to expand northward in June, bringing daily pop-up thunderstorms to large sections of the East, Southeast and Midwest, and sometimes into the Northwest. Batches of thunderstorms, called Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCS), often travel from the central Plains eastward across the Ohio or Tennessee valleys during the afternoon and overnight hours. 

Both the pop-up and long-track variety of thunderstorms can contain copious amounts of lightning. Some of this lightning can strike as far as 15 miles away from its parent thunderstorm, striking in areas where it is not raining or "from the blue." 

Following only July, June has the second-highest number of lightning-related fatalities. 

The increase in lightning-related deaths in the summer is not only because of the increase in thunderstorms during the warmer months, but also because more people are outdoors enjoying the warmer weather. 

(MORE: Mesoscale Convective Systems: Why Thunderstorm Clusters Are Both Important and Dangerous)

Flash Flood Season is Ramping Up

The Weather Prediction Center says that 34 percent of flash flood reports come from Jun. 10 through Aug. 3.

(MORE: We're Entering the Prime Time of Year For Flash Flooding in the U.S.)

June Gloom in California is Coming

Just when you thought May Gray was already too much, there are more marine layer clouds coming for coastal California. 

June gloom is the drop in temperatures and fog that moves ashore during the morning hours from central to southern California. Usually propelled by a high pressure system off the coast, low clouds are formed by the relatively chilly Pacific Ocean and then pushed onto the beaches of the golden state.

Some times the marine layer is deep enough that you can pick up light rain showers. 

The clouds usually mix out and clear by early afternoon as afternoon heating scours out the cold oceanic air. 

(MORE: June Gloom Explained)

The Southwestern Monsoon Arrives

Beginning by the end of June, the summer monsoon takes charge across the Southwest for 3-4 months. This change in winds can be a rapid and drastic change from smoldering heat and drought conditions. 

The Southwest joins the rest of the country in popcorn thunderstorms during this time of the year, but these storms bring relatively much heavier rainfall to parts of the country more accustomed to deserts than forests and tropical landscapes. 

The onset of the monsoon can bring flash flooding and dust storms along with a welcome break from the heat. Early monsoonal rains can bring lightning and strong winds, which can create new wildfires or escalate old ones. 

Flash flooding can wreak havoc in cities like Phoenix, Tucson, Albuquerque and Las Vegas.

(MORE: Five Things To Look for During The Southwest Summer Monsoon)

June's Typical Tornado and Hail Threat Area

June begins the transition toward less tornado activity overall, but given the country-wide warmth and humidity, tornadoes can happen just about anywhere. 

Late-spring storm systems can add just enough support in the Plains and Midwest to rile up organized severe thunderstorms. 

Brief, usually weaker tornadoes and waterspouts often occur near the Gulf Coast during the summer months. These are usually caused by popcorn sea-breeze thunderstorms and sea breeze collisions closer to the coast, but these tornadoes typically only last a few minutes. Popcorn thunderstorms can create brief tornadoes across much of the Southeast away from the water, too. 

We can also get tornadoes from any tropical systems that approach our coastline, but these are also usually weak and short-lived. 

(MORE: Your Average Tornado Risk by Month)

The peak of hail activity also occurs in June according to recent studies. The central and southern Plains see their most amount of hail during the early summer months as the jet stream dawdles across the region above moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and extreme daytime heating.