An area of low pressure is beginning to take shape over the West Coast. This low pressure system is not any ordinary low pressure system. It’s what is referred to as a “Cut Off” low pressure system. This is a low pressure system in the upper levels of the atmosphere that gets separated from the steering winds (also known as the jet stream). When this low is finally cut off it will do one of two things. First, it will move around very slowly until it interacts with the jet stream again, which will move it to another location. Or it will move slowly and lose strength and dissipate. This particular system looks to stall then eventually re-emerge with the jet stream and head our way by the end of the weekend. Until then, a very strong ridge of high pressure will continue to build and keep warming us up into the weekend. We are forecasting highs in the lower 90s for the River Valley. These are temperatures that we see in late August, not late September. As long as this low is stalled off the West Coast, we will continue to see above average temperatures heading into fall.