Finally, the cold outbreak is over in NYC. What an unusual spell for early August.

The key to this cold was an abnormal upper level low spinning over Quebec. More typical of weather between October and April, this cold pool dropped down into the northeastern United States. This morning's upper air temperature soundings showed a temperature of 6 Celsius over NYC at approximately 1,000 feet (850mb)--the coldest reading at that height anywhere in southern Canada or the United States.

The cold air aloft also explains why the days started sunny and then brought thick cloudiness. As the sun warmed the earth, the air rose and quickly condensed as it met cold air aloft. This is what made for the especially raw day on Saturday, bringing full cloud cover to close off any further daytime heating and keeping temperatures near 70. Brrr.