The NOAA/WPC 5-day rainfall forecast indicates up to 20 inches of rain across southwest Florida. The heavy rain is caused by a fetch of tropical moisture across Florida to the south of a stationary frontal system across Northern Florida. In the 6-7-day period the rainfall area shifts westward to the northeastern Gulf of Mexico with a chance of some tropical development.

The NOAA/WPC 7-day quantitative precipitation forecast indicates gathering tropical rains across Florida beginning later this weekend and strengthening early next week. Monitoring for possible tropical cyclone development is underway!

U.S. population weight CDD for May 2024 was 117 which is very close to the 10-year normal (118). Natural gas traders are generally more reliant on the 10-year normal as a reference therefore May is considered a near normal cooling demand month to start the 2024 warm season. In June, due to the incoming Midwest trough, the CDD forecast is cut to 230 which is substantially below the 10-year normal of 252.

The past 7 days have featured prohibitive dryness across Eastern Europe, Western Russia, and into the Northern Black Sea region. The ECM 10-day rainfall anomaly outlook indicates the Black Sea region to Southwest Russia stays mostly dry while Europe showery conditions persist and reach far Western Russia.