Is the wet May pattern in the eastern half of the U.S. anomalous? No, the wet pattern is likely to continue during the summer months for much of the eastern half of the nation. Tricky is the wet East/dry West dividing line as relevant to U.S. Crop Areas. The U.S. Corn Belt and soybean growing areas may be centered on that dividing line which can cause havoc to agriculture analysts, planners, and traders as crop conditions vary widely.

An extremely complicated North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific SSTA regime with profound influence on North America and Europe climate is reviewed. The North Atlantic is record warm but with a unique character and forecast (by ECMWF) to change during the northern hemisphere summer.

An extreme rainfall event has occurred in Rio Grande do Sul in Southeast Brazil leaving thousands homeless, many people killed, and widespread destruction such as washed-out bridges and destroyed homes. The rainfall event is ongoing and additional extreme rain is likely into mid-May. Why?

March 2024 brought the 12th consecutive month of record warm global oceans. The daily global SSTA analysis reveals the influence on record warm global oceans by marine heatwaves (MHW). Several MHW’s are steady or strengthening in the southern hemisphere while the second year of a MHW off the Northwest Africa Coast is regaining strength and a new MHW is forming off the coast of East Asia.