Did You Miss The Polar Vortex? Don't Worry, It'll Be Back This Summer

The polar vortex is expected to return to the continental United States later this month, apparently at the behest of liberals who invented it just to convince everyone climate change is real (according to Rush Limbaugh, at least).

The National Weather Service predicts that temperatures will drop to unseasonable lows across the Midwest and even as far as the East Coast.

Temperatures in the Midwest are expected to be quite pleasant, dropping about 20 degrees. The anticipated 10-degree dip in New York and Washington will also be a welcome break for most people.

Chicago's most revered meteorologist says that this change in temperatures isn't actually caused by the polar vortex, but it does bear a striking resemblance to the phenomenon many people became familiar with last winter. Several factors may be coinciding to create this reprieve from the heat, including tropical storm Neoguri, which is brewing off the coast of Japan. Wunderground meteorologist Jeff Masters explains that the storm is "causing a ripple effect in the jet stream over western North America, where a strong ridge of high pressure will develop, and over the Midwestern U.S., where a strong trough of low pressure will form." This will push cool air over the U.S. via the Great Lakes region, not unlike what happened last January.

The winter polar vortex has actually helped keep things a bit cooler in some parts of the country this spring and summer. Large bodies of water like the oceans or the Great Lakes help regulate temperatures along their shores, and Lake Michigan's temperature remains below average. This has kept cities such as Chicago slightly colder than usual this summer.

2014 continues to be a fascinating year for weather. With an El Niño coming soon, there's a distinct possibility that in the next several months temperatures will rise again.