Due to a persistent atmospheric ridge over the Southeastern U.S., storm systems arriving from the Pacific have been shunted across the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeastern States. As a result, severe drought has developed within that ridge; indeed, much of Georgia and Florida are in extreme drought.
A stable jet stream arc, from the Southern Plains to the Ohio River Valley and across the Mid-Atlantic region has produced the ridge. Within its dome, air is sinking and heating up, impairing cloud formation, negating precipitation and drying out the soil. As one might expect, the incidence of wildfires has increased significantly.
Fortunately, a potent storm system is forecast to arrive within a week, displacing the ridge and bringing much needed rain to the Southeastern States. An early tropical storm or two would be nice as well but an El Niño pattern in the Pacific is expected to dampen this year's Atlantic Hurricane Season; on the other hand, El Niños tend to produce more precipitation across the Southern U.S.
