What's With The Weather?

In an interview with CBS.com, CBS News Meteorologist Craig Allen helps shed some light on the extreme weather patterns that have been occurring throughout the United States.

Where is the drought at its worst?

It seems right now that the drought is at its worst in the eastern third of The United States. Drought conditions prevail from the Eastern Great Lakes down to the Ohio Valley, over to New England, and down to the Mid-Atlantic states. Some cities, like Boston, did not have any measurable rain during the entire month of June. Some showers and thundershowers are around these areas now, but the rain is not widespread enough for the entire Northeast.

Is this drought considered serious?

The drought is not serious yet. The meteorological community is calling the situation a moderate drought. Dry conditions were developing during the course of the winter, when there was a definite lack of snowfall throughout the Great Lakes, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic States. If we don't get any rainfall of consequence soon, then we will start turning towards a more serious stage.

Is the situation caused by global warming?size>

You can't take any one particular situation and say that it is a result of global warming. While we did that with El Nino and La Nina, there's really no such thing as labeling the current situation with these global events. But, the trend will be towards hotter summers and warmer winters if a global warming indication does come to pass.

What is the outlook for the weekend - and for the rest of the summer?size>

The weekend is going to be brutally hot in some of the Eastern states. Now you may think, "Well, it's summer and it's supposed to be hot." We are now talking about going to extremes. Temperatures are going to get up around 100 in some of the major cities, with a heat index near 110! That is dangerously high. It is a combination of the temperature and the humidity. Some cities are now issuing excessive heat advisories to alert the elderly and small children to take the necessary precautions, so they don't suffer from any heat disorders.

In the Southwestern states expect temperatures to reach the 110-120 mark. In the Southeastern states the weather will be very humid.

The same thing holds true for the center of the nation. In the Mississippi Valley and Central Plains, this is a pattern that has set itself up since the spring and may last throughout the summer.