After a two week absence that has kept the Southeast free of severe weather, the subtropical jet stream will make a return next week, which should help to alleviate developing drought conditions in this region. A look at the current upper level flow shows a ridge over California and the polar jet stream riding over the ridge and diving into the Midwest, which is the source of our cooler than normal weekend weather. This West Coast ridge has pushed temperatures to near the century mark over Arizona. A strong Pacific storm will lower heights along the West Coast and raise heights over the central plains, which will push temperatures into the 70s and 80s in that region.
Early next week, the last in a series of cold arctic highs ushered in by today’s Northeast snowstorm will push across the Great Lakes providing snow showers from MI to ME. The boundary between this cold, dry air to the north and the warm, moist air from the Gulf of Mexico will bring warm advection showers and much warmer temperatures to the mid-South. By late next week, the GFS ensembles all show a large southern stream storm that will bring much needed rain to many parts of the Southeast. A warm and moist pattern is expected to continue through the end of the month.