A stubborn jet stream pattern has made its mark on the entire country recently. While we find ourselves in a cool, rainy trough, the western half of the country is dealing with extremely hot and dry conditions.
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So, what is a trough? It is "dip" in the jet stream allowing for cooler air to filter in from the north. This is why the winds have been predominately from the north over the last 24 hours, said Storm Center 7 Meteorologist Jesse Maag.
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In addition to cooling us down, the trough is also responsible for being quite the rainmaker.
For us, we've just seen scattered showers, but states closer to the Atlantic coast have been dealing with much more rain.
You'll find a center of low pressure rotating counterclockwise within the jet stream trough.
A ridge is every opposite of a trough. You'll find dry and hot condition, a center of high pressure and clockwise rotation around the high.
The pattern is expected to break soon, so expect temperatures to work their way back up to normal in the next couple of days.
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