SWATHES of the US will sizzle this summer with hotter than average temperatures forecast for June, July and August.

Experts at The Weather Company predict most of the country will have something to look forward to after lockdown.

The Northeast and mid-Atlantic can expect above-average temperatures from June right through to August.

While higher than normal temperatures will also extend from Texas into the Pacific Northwest, the forecasters say.

And temperatures will be well above average from eastern Washington and eastern Oregon into Idaho.

Western Montana, western Wyoming, northern Utah and northeastern Nevada will also enjoy near record heat.

The Gulf Coast into the Midwest as well as parts of California and Arizona may also be warmer than usual.

However, the news should come as no big surprise as the US kicked off 2020 with the warmest January in 141 years.

And in March, global land and ocean surface temperatures hit the highest figure recorded  since 1880.

Karin Gleason, a climatologist with the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), told The New York Times they are  “virtually certain that 2020 will rank top 10 years on record.”

Some analysis even indicates that 2020 has a 50/50 chance of being the warmest year ever and a 98 per chance it will rank among the top five.

One factor which hints of a hot summer are sea-surface temperature changes in the Pacific Ocean.

Waters are monitored for indications of a developing El Niño or La Niña – which have an effect of global climate.

Some cooling in the Pacific has been detected, while temperatures in the Indian Ocean have warmed.

A hot summer is often observed across America when a shift toward La Niña occurs.

"Historically, some of our hottest summers have come during La Niña transitions, including 2005, 2010 and 2016," said Dr Todd Crawford who is chief meteorologist at The Weather Company.

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