IRON MOUNTAIN — Drought is widespread in the Midwest, although the Upper Peninsula has so far been spared the worst, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows.

Locally, moderate drought is reported in Menominee County and southern Delta County, as well as Marinette, Florence and Forest counties in Wisconsin. As of July 4, conditions were abnormally dry in Dickinson, Iron, Gogebic, Ontonagon, Houghton and Keweenaw counties, along with northern Delta County and western Baraga County, but otherwise there were no areas of concern in the U.P.

In Wisconsin, much of the state is experiencing moderate or severe drought, with most of Dane County seeing extreme drought.

A long-range forecast from the Climate Prediction Center suggests somewhat dry weather ahead.

“Given the strong dry signal apparent among the statistical tools across Ontario (Canada) and bordering Great Lakes, the July-August-September outlook leans towards below-normal precipitation across most of Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin,” forecaster Brad Pugh said.

The CPC forecast estimates a 37% chance of below-normal rainfall through September and a 30% chance of above-normal across the U.P. and northeastern Wisconsin.

The outlook for July alone is neutral for the region and there is a chance of showers and thunderstorms over the next few days.

Only 0.91 inches of rain fell in June at the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Wastewater Treatment Plant observation site, ranking with 1912 and 1941 as the third-driest Junes on record. The driest was 1937, when just 0.26 inches fell, followed by 0.71 inches in 1910.

The average for June since record-keeping began in the early 1900s is 3.66 inches.

As El Nino takes hold, the CPC outlooks calls for a 45% chance of above-average temperatures in the central U.P. and northeastern Wisconsin through September and just a 20% chance of below-normal.

“Above-normal temperatures are favored throughout a majority of the U.S. during July-August-September, with the highest probabilities — above 50 percent — forecast for much of the West, Gulf Coast and East,” Pugh said.

El Nino, a warming of water surface temperatures in the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, may send temperatures soaring across large parts of the world, according to the World Meteorological Organization.

For the Upper Peninsula, the CPC outlook favors above-average temperatures all the way through April, along with below-normal snowfall this winter.

Temperatures in June at Iron Mountain-Kingsford averaged 65.4 degrees, which was 1.4 degrees above normal. The highest reading was 90 degrees on June 2, 3 and 24. The lowest temperature was 36 degrees on June 12. No new records were set during June.