Water... Help, I need WATER! I can't remember the last time it's been so dry around these parts. The lack of rain has literally turned my yard into a dust bowl. And, the extremely dry conditions have not been confined to just here in central Pennsylvania. Since late August, the entire region from upstate New York to Georgia has had very little meaningful rainfall.

The ongoing dry weather has been caused by a large high pressure cell that has persisted over the eastern part of the country. Next week, the high will break down and be replaced by a large upper-level trough. This means the jet stream will be diverted well south before it turns back north. With this orientation, the flow will be able to transport tropical moisture northward into the Eastern states. The result will be a shift to much wetter conditions for places that are now very dry.

Sunny days are nice, I know, but at least in my book, an all-day rain can be equally attractive. In the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, the first shot of substantial rain will come next Monday and Tuesday.

Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist John Kocet.