Recent heat wave won't be the last

As high pressure anchored itself off the Southeast coast on Tuesday afternoon, a record breaking heat wave set in with temperatures soaring into the mid to upper 90's through Monmouth County, even a few locations broke the 100 degree mark.  Naturally as the summer continues, heat waves will come and go through the next few months.  However, the one factor that I have my eye on that may lead to more intense heat waves is not on the ground but at the highest points of the atmosphere.

I'm discussing the stratosphere, which is very cold right now for this time of year.  The importances of a cold stratosphere can not be discounted due to the influence the stratosphere has on the troposphere, where you and I live.  When the stratosphere is very cold, as it is now, the area or thickness of the stratosphere contracts.  This contraction of the stratosphere because atoms are more tightly compact, leads to an expansion of the troposphere.  With more room to move in the troposphere, atoms are more free to move and thus air temperatures are able to reacher higher levels due to energy and mass transfer processes.  

A cold stratosphere also means that 500 MB heights are elevated as well, which basically means troughs are weaker and ridges are stronger which is why the cold front that moved through last night has weakened so quickly.  In short, a cold stratospheric environment all but ensures that a hot and humid summer is on the way when one combines the influences of a dissipating La Nina and a warm Atlantic ocean.  With a ridge firmly anchored over the Southeastern United States, it is only a matter of time before hazy, hot, and humid weather conditions return to Freehold and much of the Garden State!