According to WSI Corp.’s latest forecast released Monday, lots of sunscreen and air conditioning could be a necessity this summer as the company expects temperatures to average warmer-than-normal in most locations, with the exception of the Pacific Northwest and along the western Gulf Coast, which are likely to see cooler-than-normal temperatures.

“We expect a pretty warm summer this year in the East, especially during the last half of the summer and in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley,” said Todd Crawford, WSI seasonal forecaster.

Referencing a standard 30-year normal (1971-2000), WSI broke down the forecast for the June through August period. A majority of the United States is expected to be flooded with warmer than normal temperatures during June, except for the Northwest and the coastlines in the Southeast and South Central regions of the country, which are expected to be cooler than normal.

“This is bullish for power prices in most regions,” WSI said. “More importantly, a warm start to the summer throughout the United States will provide uncertainty to natural gas injections to storage and will be supportive for gas prices.”

July is expected to bring more of the same according to the Andover, MA-based company. Warmer-than-normal temps are expected to blanket the country with the exception of the Northwest, which is expected to be cooler than normal, minus Montana. WSI said it expects especially warm temperatures in NY, PA, NJ, MN, ND,WI,IL,IN and OH.

Once again, WSI said the warmer-than-normal forecasts for July “increase the likelihood” of heat events that would have bullish impacts on power and gas prices.

WSI said August looks to continue the warming trend with warmer-than-normal temps everywhere except the South Central region, which is expected to be cooler than normal inland except for Ok and KS. The company warned that especially warmer than normal temperatures are expected in SC, NC and VA.

As the warmer-than-normal heat extends past July, WSI warned that the increased chances of additional heat events is bullish not only from a power demand viewpoint, but also because extended heat increases the likelihood of generator outages.

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