Long range weather patterns are greatly influenced by the Pacific ocean temperatures and
NOAA is predicting a possibly very strong El Nino for the rest of this year. Because the Pacific is so large (twice the size of the Atlantic) it has a major influence on both the trade wind on the equator and the northern and southern jet streams, and thus out long term weather. Right now the El Nino has created a pronounced northerly rise in the jet stream over most of North America with a large dip over the northeast. This peculiar jet stream curve is the reason for the extreme heat affecting the south and west, the Canadian Spring drought and forest fires, and the stalled low pressure area over the northeast that has been keeping us in a rainy pattern.