7:00 AM | 90 degrees for highs this weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for a shower or thunderstorm, highs near 90 degrees

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, lows in the low 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, near 90

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, low 60’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, hot, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Monday

Partly sunny, hot, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid-to-upper 80’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid-to-upper 80’s

Discussion

An upper level ridge has shifted eastward from the west coast to a position near Colorado and this has caused upper level to become more westerly than northerly. As a result, temperatures will climb to near 90 degrees over the next few days and there will be a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms this weekend.

7:00 AM | Seasonably cool weekend for coastal locations

6-Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, cool, highs near 70 degrees along coastal regions

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, fog possible late, lows in the low 60’s

Saturday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, near 70

Saturday Night

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

Sunday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, near 70

Monday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, seasonably cool, low 70’s

Tuesday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, seasonably cool, low 70’s

Wednesday

Patchy fog early then partly sunny, milder, seasonably cool, low 70’s

Discussion

A cooling trend will continue in the region along with a return of the marine layer of air that will moderate coastal temperatures through the weekend. Highs along the coast will generally hold near the 70 degree mark which is a tad below the normal high for this time of year of 73 degrees (at LAX Airport).

7:00 AM | Seasonably cool weather coming

6-Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, cool, highs near 70 degrees along coastal regions

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, fog possible late, lows in the low 60’s

Friday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, near 70

Friday Night

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

Saturday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, near 70

Sunday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, cool, near 70

Monday

Patch fog early then becoming partly sunny, seasonably cool, low 70’s

Tuesday

Patchy fog early then partly sunny, milder, seasonably cool, low 70’s

Discussion

A cooling trend will continue in the region along with a return of the marine layer of air that will moderate coastal temperatures into the weekend. Highs along the coast will hold near or slightly below the 70 degree mark which is a tad below the normal high for this time of year of 73 degrees (at LAX Airport).

7:00 AM | Back to 90 degrees by the weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, very warm, highs in the upper 80’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, lows in the low 60’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, chance for a shower or thunderstorm, low 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, hot, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Sunday

Partly sunny, hot, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Monday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, upper 80’s

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid-to-upper 80’s

Discussion

An upper level ridge will shift eastward from the west coast at the end of the week to a position over Colorado and this will allow for upper levels wind to become more westerly than northerly. As a result, temperatures will climb to near 90 degrees over the next few days and there will be a slight chance for showers and thunderstorms this weekend.

11:45 AM | An update on solar cycle 24 and a newly emerged active sunspot region

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. There is, however, an active sunspot region that is now rotating to a position that will face the Earth directly in just a few days. In fact, this sunspot region, officially named AR1785, generated an M-class solar flare earlier today, but that should not have an effect on the Earth’s upper atmosphere as it occurred while it was not directly facing the Earth.

Despite this newly emerged active sunspot region, solar activity in general has been rather low this year and this is despite the fact that this particular cycle is approaching the expected solar maximum time period in the middle or latter part of 2013. There is a growing belief that, based on the lack of any substantial spike in sunspot activity, the peak of this cycle may have already happened during the latter part of 2011 - much earlier than originally forecasted. Another theory suggests that there may be a “double-peak” solar maximum for this cycle which would mean there could be a sharp spike in sunspot activity still to come later later this year or in early 2014.

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 over twenty years ago with solar cycle 22. 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 medium and 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 cycle predictions is that this apparent long-term period of weaker and extended solar cycles looks like it will coincide with a cold phase of the Pacific Ocean (negative Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index). 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. Global temperature anomalies have tended to trend downward over the past few years seemingly right after the PDO flipped to a negative (cold) phase. We’ll continue to periodically report on sunspot activity and the oceanic cycles here at “thesiweather.com” and monitor any important changes that may unfold.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/YSCtQecALL8

7:00 AM | Still pretty comfortable for today, but temperatures will return to 90 degrees for highs by the weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, still pretty comfortable, highs in the low 80’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, cool, lows in the upper 50’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, very warm, upper 80’s

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, low 60’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, hot, near 90

Saturday

Partly sunny, hot, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Sunday

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, upper 80’s

Monday

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid-to-upper 80’s

Discussion

An upper level ridge will over the Southwest US at the same time an upper trough holds in place east of Colorado. This will maintain an upper level northerly flow of air that will keep temperatures from climbing to lofty levels. The upper level ridge shifts further east this weekend and that will allow for a warm up to occur as winds shift to more of a westerly direction.

7:00 AM | Coastal locations may actually get slightly below normal by the end of the week

6-Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, warm, highs in the low 70’s along coastal regions

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, fog possible late, lows in the mid-to-upper 60’s

Thursday

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

Thursday Night

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

Friday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Saturday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Sunday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Monday

Patchy fog early then mostly sunny, milder, low 70’s

Discussion

A cooling trend will continue in the region along with a return of the marine layer of air that will moderate coastal temperatures into the weekend. Highs late this week and for the weekend will be slightly below the normal highs of 73 degrees (LAX) along coastal locations.

7:00 AM | Much closer to seasonal temperatures for the second half of the week along coastal sections

6-Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, warm, coastal highs in the mid 70’s

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, fog possible late, lows in the mid-to-upper 60’s

Wednesday

Patch fog early then becoming mostly sunny, cooler, low 70's

Wednesday Night

Mostly clear, mild, fog possible late, low 60’s

Thursday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Friday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Saturday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Sunday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Discussion

A cooling trend has commenced and temperatures will be close to normal for the second half of the week. A return of the marine layer will bring back the usual late night and early morning low clouds and fog to coastal regions.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/GAvW1m61Lqw

7:00 AM | Comfortable warmth continues for another couple of days

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, rather comfortable, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, highs in the low 80's

Tonight

Partly cloudy, cool, lows in the mid 50’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, comfortably warm, low 80’s

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, upper 50’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid-to-upper 80’s

Friday

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Saturday

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Sunday

Partly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, upper 80’s

Discussion

Strong high pressure ridging in the upper atmosphere has shifted towards the west coast and this has developed northerly flow over Colorado that will continue for another couple of days. The result will be rather comfortable temperatures until the latter part of the week at which time the northerly flow aloft will weaken and a warming trend will commence.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/GAvW1m61Lqw

7:00 AM | Cooling trend as upper high slowly weakens

6-Day Forecast

Today

Patchy fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, warm, highs in the mid-to-upper 70’s along the coast and warmer inland

Tonight

Mostly clear, breezy, mild, fog possible late, lows in the mid-to-upper 60’s

Tuesday

Patch fog early then becoming mostly sunny, breezy, slightly cooler, low 70's

Tuesday Night

Mostly clear, mild, fog possible late, low 60’s

Wednesday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Thursday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Friday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Saturday

Patchy fog early then gradual clearing, seasonably cool, near 70

Discussion

Strong high pressure that has been anchored near the west coast will slowly weaken over the next couple of days and the result will be a noticeable cooling trend. Onshore flow will increase as we progress through the mid-week time period and there will be a return of late night and early morning low clouds and fog.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/HgQXoU5HwTk