7:00 AM | Next three days will feature unseasonably mild conditions and highs not far from 60 degrees

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, unseasonably mild, highs in the upper 50’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, chilly, lows near 30 degrees

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, still unseasonably mild, near 60

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, low 30’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, mild, near 60

Thursday

Mostly sunny, a bit cooler, low-to-mid 50’s

Friday

Partly sunny, cool, low-to-mid 50’s

Saturday

Partly sunny, colder, maybe some snow, near 40

Discussion

West-to-northwest flow will dominate across the region for the next couple of days and this will keep us warm and dry. High temperatures will be well above normal approaching the 60 degree mark each of the next three afternoons. By later Wednesday, a weak upper level trough will move across the area and this will cause a downward trend in temperatures that will continue into the upcoming weekend.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/7pTi2EBNoWs

7:00 AM | Near 60 degrees by early next week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, mild, highs in the upper 40's

Tonight

Partly cloudy, cold, lows in the mid 20’s

Saturday

Mainly sunny, milder, low 50’s

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, upper 20’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, mild, upper 50’s

Monday

Mostly sunny, even milder, near 60

Tuesday

Partly sunny, unseasonably warm, near 60

Wednesday

Partly sunny, still unseasonably mild, low 60’s

Discussion

Temperatures will remain above normal for this time of the year and an even warmer air mass is headed our way for the weekend. High temperatures will approach 60 degrees from Sunday right into the mid-week time frame.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/QAO-1mXcNTk

7:00 AM | Mild and dry weather pattern continues into the weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs in the low 70's

Tonight

Mostly clear, cool, lows near 50 degrees

Saturday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Saturday Night

Mostly clear, cool, mid 50’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs near 70

Monday

Partly sunny, pleasant, upper 60's

Tuesday

Partly sunny, cooler, mid 60’s

Wednesday

Mostly cloudy, even cooler, near 60

Discussion

Mild and dry weather will continue today and tomorrow and then the trend in temperatures will be downward as we progress through next week. High pressure ridging will dominate the weather scene into the early part of next week and then it will weaken somewhat by next week allowing for some gradual cooling to occur.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/QAO-1mXcNTk

7:00 AM | Nice weather pattern continues for southern California

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs near 70 degrees

Tonight

Mostly clear, cool, lows near 50 degrees

Friday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Friday Night

Mostly clear, cool, low 50’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs near 70

Sunday

Partly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Monday

Partly sunny, cooler, mid-to-upper 60’s

Tuesday

Mostly cloudy, cooler, mid 60’s

Discussion

High pressure continues to dominate the scene and this will allow for milder weather to go along with the copious amount of sunshine expected each and every day right through the weekend. Some cooling may take place on Monday and Tuesday of next week as a trough approaches from the west, but nothing drastic as highs will still reach the mid and upper 60’s.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/rQkkrZVPcF4

7:00 AM | 60 degrees possible again in the southern Rockies by early next week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, windy, chilly, lower 40’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, breezy, cold, lows in the mid 20’s

Friday

Mainly sunny, milder, low 50’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, chilly, upper 20’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, mild, near 55

Sunday

Mostly sunny, even milder, upper 50’s

Monday

Partly sunny, unseasonably warm, near 60

Tuesday

Partly sunny, still unseasonably mild, low 60’s

Discussion

Winds will continue to be a factor today, but not quite as strong as they were on Wednesday. Temperatures will be above normal for this time of the year, but an even warmer air mass is headed our way for the weekend. High temperatures could actually reach or surpass 60 degrees by Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/rQkkrZVPcF4

7:00 AM | High pressure rules and we'll continue with sunshine and dry conditions

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, a bit milder, highs in the mid 60’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, chilly, lows in the upper 40’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, upper 60’s

Thursday Night

Mostly clear, cool, low 50’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs near 70

Saturday

Partly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Sunday

Partly sunny, cooler, mid 60’s

Monday

Partly sunny, cool, mid 60’s

Discussion

High pressure continues to dominate the scene and this will allow for milder weather to go along with the copious amount of sunshine expected each and every day through the upcoming weekend. Some cooling may take place late in the weekend as a trough approaches from the west.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/WK849bACr4k

7:00 AM | *Strong winds will be the main story in and around the Denver metro region through tomorrow*

6-Day Forecast

Today

Partly sunny, very windy, not as cold this afternoon after a frigid start to the day, highs near 40 degrees

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, very windy, cold, lows near 20 degrees

Thursday

Mainly sunny, very windy, milder, upper 40’s

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, very windy, cold, low-to-mid 20’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, mild, near 50

Saturday

Mostly sunny, milder, upper 50’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, unseasonably mild, near 60

Monday

Partly sunny, still unseasonably mild, high 50’s

Discussion

The main story over the next couple of days will be the winds as they will be very strong at times with gusts to 60 mph in the nearby mountains and 40 mph in and around the Denver metro region. A long wave trough of low pressure will shift east of Colorado early today and on the back side a strong northwest flow will form with a 120+knot jet at its core.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/WK849bACr4k

1:00 PM | An update on Solar Cycle 24

Discussion

We are currently over four years into Solar Cycle 24 and it continues to “underwhelm” and be on a pace that would make it the smallest sunspot cycle since Cycle 14 which peaked in February 1906. Solar activity has been quite low over the past couple of weeks with only a couple of sunspot regions now visible on the Earth side of the sun and this is despite the fact that this cycle is rapidly approaching an expected solar maximum during the latter part of 2013. There is, however, a growing feeling that, based on the recent inactivity, the peak may have already happened during the latter part of 2011 - much earlier than originally forecasted. If this is the case then we are likely to see decreasing levels of activity during 2013.

Cycle 24 began after an unusually deep solar minimum that lasted from 2007 to 2009 which included more spotless days on the sun compared to any minimum in almost a century. While a weaker solar cycle does not rule out the threat for strong solar storms, it does suggest that they will occur less often than during the stronger and more active cycles. The increasingly likely outcome for a weak solar cycle continues the recent downward trend in sunspot cycle strength that began with solar cycle 22 over twenty years ago. In addition, there are some solar scientists who are already predicting that the next cycle, 25, will be even weaker than the current one. According to some research studies, weak solar cycles with extended lengths may actually have a downward effect on global temperatures in the longer range. Weak solar cycles tend to last longer than the strong ones. There have been historical periods with minimal sunspot activity that lasted for several decades such as from the mid 1600’s to the early 1700’s when the so-called “Maunder Minimum” occurred and this period was quite cold globally.

Another interesting aspect to these solar predictions is that this apparent long-term period of weak and extended solar cycles looks like it will coincide with a cold phase of the Pacific Ocean (negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation). The Pacific Ocean slipped into a cold phase a few years ago and these longer-term oceanic phases tend to last for two or three decades. We’ll continue to periodically report on the latest sunspot activity and also the Pacific Ocean sea surface temperature anomalies here at “thesiweather.com” to monitor any changes that may unfold.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/z_w5iapMzM8

7:00 AM | Much colder today with snow ending early; winds play a major role over the next few days

6-Day Forecast

Today

Light snow ending early this morning with small accumulations making roads slick; otherwise, remaining mostly cloudy, windy, much colder than yesterday, low 30’s

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, windy, very cold, chance for a little more snow at times, lows near 10 degrees

Wednesday

Partly sunny, windy, not quite as cold, low 40’s

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, windy, cold, low-to-mid 20’s

Thursday

Partly sunny, windy, milder, upper 40’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, mild, near 50

Saturday

Mostly sunny, unseasonably mild, near 60

Sunday

Mostly sunny, unseasonably mild, near 60

Discussion

An upper level trough will continue to move across the state today and much colder air has returned to the region, but only on a temporary basis. Snow accompanied the arrival of the colder air mass and will wind down during the early morning hours, but a little more snow can't be ruled out at times for later today and tonight. A big story over the next few days will be the persistent and strongs winds that will flow out of the northwest. By the end of the week, however, the northwest flow will weaken and a mild pattern will get underway with highs near 60 degrees possible this weekend.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/0nDfCM-PjuY

7:00 AM | Cool again today, but milder during the second half of the week with plenty of sunshine

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, cool, highs near 60 degrees

Tonight

Mostly clear, cold, lows in the upper 40’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, still cool, low-to-mid 60’s

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, cold, upper 40’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, highs near 70

Friday

Partly sunny, warmer, low 70’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, pleasant, near 70

Sunday

Mostly sunny, cooler, mid 60’s

Discussion

Continued cool weather conditions for today, but milder weather is coming later in the week. High pressure will dominate the scene for much of the week and this will allow for a mid-week warming trend to take place and it’ll stay pretty pleasant through Saturday.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/0nDfCM-PjuY