CONTACT:  Randee Exler                                           7/17/98
          
                          MEDIA ADVISORY


      LATEST NOAA LONG-LEAD CLIMATE OUTLOOK ON THE INTERNET

The latest long-lead climate outlook issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center is available on the Internet.

The climate outlook, issued on July 16, calls for continued above normal temperatures throughout most of the Southwest U.S. and southern Florida in the late summer and fall. Into the fall, warmer than normal temperatures are forecast for much of the Southwest including Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and portions of Colorado. These conditions will extend across the Southeast during the winter months. Cooler than normal temperatures are expected for the Pacific Northwest in the winter. Temperatures are expected to be cooler than normal across the Great Lakes and Northeast later in the winter into spring.

Drier than normal conditions will persist in west Texas, New Mexico and Arizona in through August and into October. The late fall and early winter forecasts indicate continued dry conditions throughout much of the southern United States and into portions of the mid-west. Wetter than normal precipitation is predicted for the Pacific Northwest throughout the fall and into the winter months and in the Ohio and Tennessee River Valley in the winter.

Temperature and precipitation patterns in areas that are not specifically addressed by the forecast are not predictable at this time.

The outlook is available online at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov. Click on "forecasts" and then "multi-season."