Perhaps the heat's biggest casualty has been the millions of acres that have been charred because of wildfires in the West. But as the parts of the nation suffer from this sweltering summer, persistent clouds and downpours in the Northeast are keeping temperatures down. In Albany, N.Y., this summer was the ninth-coolest on record, tying with 1851 and 1946. It was just shy of entering the Top 10 wettest summers. The catalyst for this wild weather has been the jet stream in the northern USA and a stubborn high-pressure area in the South.
High pressure brings clear skies and sunny days, allowing maximum heating of the Earth's surface.
Also, air under high pressure sinks and compresses, which causes it to warm even more. Small shifts in this pattern have brought subtle yet much-needed changes. As the high moved south and west into Texas in August, rain and cooler temperatures were able to infiltrate the Southeast just as a drought was taking shape. The clockwise circulation around the high swung moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and eastern Pacific into the Southwest and Rockies. With the increase in clouds, showers and humidity, firefighters in the West finally received the help they needed.