Summer expected to keep its cool

Ohio hasn't experienced a hot summer for three years now, and if weather forecasters are correct in their predictions, the region won't be sweating this coming summer too much either.

A variety of forecasting organizations have released their outlooks for the summer of 2015 across the country, and while there are some stark inconsistencies from one to the other, most of those boil down to a question of degree – or rather, degrees.

Despite their discrepancies, however, there's one expectation about the coming season they all share. El Nino, an unusual warming of the sea-surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can have a large impact on weather across North America, is back, and expected to get a lot stronger.

Should that occur, the summer of 2015 could be a progressively cool one for Ohio. Not every forecasting outlet is on board with that assumption, but nobody is calling for a hot summer in this part of the world.

"The emerging El Nino event will be potent this year, likely stronger than the 2009 event and possibly rivaling the 1997 event. The downstream impacts from this event will likely drive deceased risks of big heat this summer in the eastern and central U.S., especially later in the summer," said Todd Crawford, chief meteorologist for WSI, which works with The Weather Channel.

"Our current forecast for national cooling demand this summer rivals that for the cool summer of 2009, and even that may be a bit conservative."

A cool summer, of course, could impact everything from tourism to energy. But even if chilly temperatures don't materialize, motorists in this part of the country can probably expect a break at the gas pump this coming season.

"This summer will be the cheapest at the pump across much of the U.S. since 2009 with prices likely remaining well below year-ago levels. I forecast that the national average will not breach $3 a gallon this summer," Patrick DeHaan, a senior petroleum analyst for GasBuddy.com, said.

thill3@nncogannett.com

419-563-9225

Twitter: @ToddHillMNJ