7:00 AM | Wildfire weather continues with a persistent hot, dry pattern

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, continued hot, elevated fire danger continues in the region, highs in the low 90's

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, lows near 60 degrees

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, still hot, near 90

Tuesday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, near 60

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, hot, maybe a shower or thunderstorm, near 90

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, maybe a shower or thunderstorm, near 90

Discussion

A very warm weather pattern here in the southern Rockies over the next several days as persistent southwest flow continues with an upper level trough in the northwestern part of the country. The threat for showers and thunderstorms will be quite small; consequently, elevated fire danger risks will continue for the foreseeable future and there will be areas of smoke due to current on-going wildfires. There is the chance for a shift in the winds late this week to more of a northwesterly direction which could actually allow for some more sub-tropical moisture to advance into Colorado at the end of the week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/EznAzuQy11k

7:00 AM | Onshore flow keeps us quite cool this weekend and early next week; there are signs for a big warm up late next week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Early morning low clouds and fog then gradual clearing, breezy, seasonably cool, highs near 70 degrees

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, breezy, mild, some fog late, lows near 60 degrees

Saturday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, seasonably cool, upper 60’s

Saturday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, some fog late, near 60

Sunday

Patchy fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, mid-to-upper 60’s

Monday

Patchy morning fog and drizzle then remaining mostly cloudy, cool, mid-to-upper 60’s

Tuesday

Patchy morning fog and drizzle then remaining mostly cloudy, cool, mid-to-upper 60's

Wednesday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, near 70

Discussion

Onshore flow will gradually increase this weekend leading to a cooling trend and, as the marine air thickens, drizzle may play a role in our weather by Monday and Tuesday. The main player in the development of a thick marine layer will be an upper level trough that approaches the coast this weekend. Looking ahead, there are signs for a potential big warm up late next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/OEIu0C-GZJw

7:00 AM | Hot, dry pattern continues causing an elevated wildfire risk in the southern Rockies

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, hot, elevated fire danger continues in the region, highs in the low 90’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, cool, lows in the upper 50’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, near 60

Sunday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Monday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Discussion

A very warm weather pattern will continue here in the southern Rockies over the next several days as Colorado remains sandwiched between upper low over the Pacific Northwest and an upper level ridge centered near Texas. This pattern will produce a persistent southwesterly flow of air around here at all levels of the atmosphere and the result will be daily high temperatures at or slightly above 90 degrees. The threat for showers and thunderstorms will be quite small; consequently, elevated fire danger risks will continue for the foreseeable future and there will be areas of smoke due to current on-going wildfires.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/OEIu0C-GZJw

2:50 PM | The MJO index and possible tropical troubles in early-to-mid July

Discussion

The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) index is raising the possibility of tropical troubles in the Atlantic Basin during the early-to-middle part of July and this could ultimately have an impact on the east coast. The MJO index tracks a tropical disturbance that propagates eastward around the global tropics with a cycle on the order of 30-60 days. The MJO has wide ranging impacts on the patterns of tropical and extratropical precipitation, atmospheric circulation, and surface temperatures around the global tropics and subtropics. Research has found that the location of the MJO, or phase, is linked with certain temperature and precipitation patterns around the world. The very latest MJO forecast from the European model propagates the MJO onto the doorstep of phase 2 right around July 4th and studies have shown that phases 2 and 3 tend to favor tropical activity in the Atlantic Basin. In fact, the last time the MJO index moved through phases 2 and 3 was in early June and it correlated quite well with Tropical Storm Andrea as it formed and ultimately rode right up the east coast in that time period.

7:00 AM | Elevated fire danger risk continues with on-going hot, dry weather pattern

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, hot, breezy, elevated fire danger continues in the region and there will be areas of smoke, highs right near 90 degrees

Tonight

Mostly clear, cool, lows in the upper 50’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90's

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, cool, near 60

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, low 90's

Sunday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Monday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Discussion

A very warm weather pattern will continue here in the southern Rockies over the next several days as Colorado remains sandwiched between upper low over the Pacific Northwest and an upper level ridge centered near Texas. This pattern will produce a persistent southwesterly flow of air around here at all levels of the atmosphere and the result will be daily high temperatures at or above 90 degrees. The threat for showers and thunderstorms will be small; consequently, elevated fire danger risks will continue for the foreseeable future and there can be areas of smoke from on-going wildfires.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/tsmlAlke6rc

7:00 AM | Still quite breezy and temperatures will stay seasonably cool

6-Day Forecast

Today

Early morning low clouds and fog then becoming partly sunny, breezy, seasonably cool, highs near 70 degrees

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, breezy, mild, some fog late, lows near 60 degrees

Friday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, seasonably cool, near 70

Friday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, some fog late, near 60

Saturday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, seasonably cool, near 70

Sunday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, near 70

Monday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, near 70

Tuesday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, near 70

Discussion

It’ll stay quite breezy in the region for another day as a strong pressure gradient continues to exist across the southern half of California. Onshore flow will persist this weekend and we’ll stay relatively close to seasonably cool highs for this time of year near 70 degrees along coastal regions.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/tsmlAlke6rc

11:15 AM | "Super-duper" moon this weekend

Discussion

The perigee (closest) full moon, which happens once every 14 months, is happening this weekend. To be exact, the full moon peaks on early Sunday morning (7:32am), June 23rd, and this full moon will be the closest and largest full moon of the year. In fact, this will be the moon’s closest encounter with Earth until August 2014. On Sunday, the moon will appear bigger and brighter and be about 221,824 miles away from Earth - which is roughly 30,000 miles closer than when it is at is farthest location way from Earth.

The term supermoon has been used to describe this upcoming full moon and it seems the going definition for supermoon, coined by an astrologer in the late 1970’s, is as follows: a new or full moon which occurs with the moon at or near (within 90% of) its closest approach to Earth in a given orbit (perigee). During a supermoon, the sun, Earth and moon are aligned with the Earth in the middle. Using this definition, there are 4-6 supermoons per year on average, but this year has only three (May, June and July) and the other two in 2013 did not (or will not) occur during a full moon. This month’s supermoon can be considered the supermoon among supermoons for 2013 or, if you want to sound more technical, a super-duper moon.

How about the effect on tides? Gravitational forces exerted on the Earth by the moon and sun cause our planet’s ocean tides to rise and fall and the high tide during this supermoon will be a couple of inches more than what it is during a normal moon. All full moons bring higher-than-normal tides and perigee full moons bring the highest (and lowest) tides of all. However, the boost in high tides is not likely to cause any flooding problems at the shore unless there happens to be a strong weather system to accentuate the effects – and this appears unlikely for the Mid-Atlantic region this weekend.

7:00 AM | Overall weather pattern for the next several days of generally hot and dry will keep the fire danger at elevated levels

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, hot, dry, breezy, elevated fire danger returns to the region, highs in the low 90’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, cool, breezy, lows in the upper 50’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, cool, upper 50’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Sunday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Monday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Discussion

After a day with severe weather in the area, calmer conditions will prevail on Wednesday, but the fire danger will climb noticeably as hot, dry, breezy weather takes over. A tornado formed right near the airport yesterday and winds were clocked at 97 mph during the mid-afternoon hours. Radar showed the classic signature of a hook echo right near the airport Tuesday afternoon from a rather isolated severe thunderstorm cell.

Upper level ridging continues to dominate the scene across the southern Rockies and high temperatures today will respond by climbing into the low 90’s. It is likely to reach 90 degrees again on Thursday and then highs will once again flirt with the 90 degree mark this weekend. The heat combined with the generally low-humidity and breezy conditions will keep fire danger at elevated levels over the next several days.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/nUuSCF0aDS0

7:00 AM | Quite breezy today with seasonably cool conditions and that temperature pattern will continue

6-Day Forecast

Today

Early morning low clouds and fog then becoming partly sunny, quite breezy, seasonably cool, highs near 70 degrees

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, breezy, mild, some fog late, lows in the low 60’s

Thursday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, seasonably cool, highs near 70

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, some fog late, low 60’s

Friday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, seasonably cool, highs near 70

Saturday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, highs near 70

Sunday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, highs near 70

Monday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, seasonably cool, highs near 70

Discussion

It’ll stay quite breezy in the region today with temperatures not far from normal for this time of year. After the usual early morning low clouds and patchy fog, clearing skies will set in and temperatures should climb to near 70 degrees this afternoon along coastal regions. It appears that the seasonably cool conditions with highs not far from 70 degrees along coastal locations will persist for the next several days.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/nUuSCF0aDS0

7:00 AM | Pattern repeats with late night/early morning low clouds and fog and then some afternoon clearing

6-Day Forecast

Today

Early morning low clouds and fog then becoming mostly sunny, quite breezy, highs in the low 70’s

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, breezy, mild, some fog late, lows in the low 60’s

Wednesday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, milder, low-to-mid 70’s

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, some fog late, low 60’s

Thursday

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, pleasant, low 70’s

Friday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, a bit milder, mid 70’s

Saturday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, warm, mid-to-upper 70’s

Sunday

Patchy morning fog then mostly sunny skies, warm, mid-to-upper 70’s

Discussion

Late night and early morning low clouds and fog will continue for much of the week, but afternoons will feature clearing skies and high temperatures climbing well into the 70’s along coastal regions. A slight warm up is possible at the end of the week and for the upcoming weekend.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/-hYtIcuEExI