We kick off the month of July with a trough digging into the western United States and a large ridge of high pressure building into the midwestern states (I refuse to call this a heat ridge...another stupid, hyped up term) resulting in high heat and humidity building into the eastern third of the country. Here in the Northeast, we will find ourselves on the northern or northeastern periphery of the upper-level ridge. This will place us in a favor position for the advection of higher heat/humidity in the lower-levels while favoring a northwestern flow in the mid-to-upper levels. This pattern can be favorable for MCS propagation into the Northeast region as well as the advection of elevated mixed-layer plumes.
In terms of severe weather potential, computer forecast models hint at some shortwave energy rounding the northern periphery of the ridge into the Northeast (uncertainty as to exactly where). With temperatures well into the 90's and dewpoints well into the upper 60's to 70's under the presence of steep mid-level lapse rates, the potential exists for moderate-to-extreme instability to develop with potential for 2500-4000 J/KG of MLCAPE with potential for 30-40+ knots of bulk shear. Should a shortwave work into this environment the potential would exist for numerous thunderstorms, including the potential for some of these to be severe with potential for damaging wind gusts, large hail, and even the potential for tornadoes if enough directional shear is present.
The high heat and humidity has finally arrived