7:00 AM | Very warm pattern lasts right through the weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, windy, very warm, highs in the low 80’s along coastal locations, even warmer in the interior sections

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, lows by morning in the upper 60’s

Friday

Becoming mainly sunny, windy, very warm, low 80’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, upper 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, very warm, low 80’s

Sunday

Some fog possible early; otherwise, mostly sunny skies, still warm, near 80

Monday

Mostly sunny, not as warm, mid 70’s

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, pleasant, mid 70’s

Discussion

A broad area of high pressure will build over the west coast during the next few days and this will keep temperatures well above normal through the weekend. While temperatures will be cooler along coastal locations than interior spots, they will still likely reach the 80’s and downtown LA is likely to reach the 90’s during this warm stretch of weather.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/qXSpICT-Q3o

7:00 AM | No relief until early next week as strong upper level ridge dominates

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, highs in the low-to-mid 90’s

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, mild, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, lows by morning in the mid-to-upper 60’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low-to-mid 90’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid-to-upper 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low-to-mid 90’s

Sunday

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

Monday

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

Tuesday

Partly sunny, cooler, chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 80

Discussion

Large upper level ridge will remain in control of the region’s weather through the weekend. This pattern will generate continued very warm temperatures for the southern Rockies and enough sub-tropical moisture will be around to allow for the slight chance for showers and thunderstorms each day into the weekend. By early next week, the upper level high will shift eastward and this will open the door for a cool frontal passage that could cool things off around here by Tuesday of next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/qXSpICT-Q3o

7:00 AM | Much warmer-than-normal weather to continue all week in the LA Basin

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, windy, very warm, highs in the low 80's along coastal locations, even warmer in interior sections

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, lows by morning in the upper 60’s

Thursday

Mainly sunny, windy, very warm, low 80's

Thursday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, upper 60’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, breezy, very warm, low 80's

Saturday

Some fog possible early; otherwise, mostly sunny skies, very warm, low 80's

Sunday

Mostly sunny, warm, near 80

Monday

Mainly sunny, not as warm, mid 70’s

Discussion

The overall weather pattern will stay very warm for the region right through the work week as high pressure builds into the upper parts of the atmosphere from the southern Rockies. High temperatures will climb to the low 80's along coastal locations for the next few days and even higher in the interior sections of southwestern California.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/GVzOXyFycJU

7:00 AM | Large upper level ridge continues to generate very warm conditions around here

6-Day Forecast

Today

Partly sunny, breezy, very warm, chance for showers and thunderstorms, highs in the low 90’s

Tonight

Mostly cloudy, breezy, mild, chance for showers and thunderstorms, lows by morning in the mid 60’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low-to-mid 90’s

Thursday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid 60’s

Friday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low-to-mid 90's

Saturday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low 90's

Sunday

Mostly sunny, very warm, chance for showers and thunderstorms, near 90

Monday

Mostly sunny, warm, chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid 80’s

Discussion

Large upper level ridge will remain in control of the region’s weather right through the week and into the weekend. This pattern will generate continued very warm temperatures for the southern Rockies, perhaps in record-breaking, and enough sub-tropical moisture will be around to allow for the chance for showers and thunderstorms each day into the weekend. By early next week, the high will gradually shift eastward and this should shave a few degrees off of the highs and it could open the doors for a cool frontal passage by around Tuesday on next week.

Video

httpv://youtu.be/GVzOXyFycJU

7:00 AM | Hot weather pattern continues thanks to large upper level ridging

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, very warm, highs in the low 90’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, lows by morning in the mid 60’s

Wednesday

Mostly sunny, very warm, slight chance for showers and thunderstorms, low 90’s

Wednesday Night

Mostly cloudy, mild, chance for showers and thunderstorms, mid 60’s

Thursday

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

Friday

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

Saturday

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

Sunday

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

Discussion

Above normal temperatures will remain for the next several days in the Denver metro region with highs at or slight above 90 degrees until mid-week and then in the upper 80’s for the second half of the week. Upper level ridge of high pressure will rebuild into the region today and this will maintain our recent warmer-than-normal temperature pattern right through the week.

7:00 AM | Warm week in store for the LA metro region

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, warm, breezy, highs in the mid-to-upper 70’s along coastal locations

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, lows by morning in the upper 60’s

Wednesday

Becoming mainly sunny, windy, warm, mid-to-upper 70’s

Wednesday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, upper 60’s

Thursday

Mostly sunny, warm, near 80

Friday

Mostly sunny, warm, near 80

Saturday

Mostly sunny, warm, upper 70’s

Sunday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid-to-upper 70’s

Discussion

The overall weather pattern will become very mild for the region this week and, despite possible early morning low clouds and fog, the afternoons will feature plenty of sunshine and high temperatures approaching the 80 degree mark on most days in coastal locations.

12:00 PM | The Carrington Event of 1859 - a solar superstorm

Discussion

It was this time of year 154 years ago when the solar superstorm, now known as the Carrington Event, took place during solar cycle 10. The event has been named for the British astronomer, Richard Carrington, as he observed from his own private observatory the largest solar flare during this event which caused a major coronal mass ejection (CME) to travel directly toward Earth. The 33-year-old astronomer - widely acknowledged at the time to be England’s best - also recorded in detailed fashion the appearance of the sunspot regions that he saw at the time.

From August 28, 1859 to September 2, 1859 numerous sunspots and solar flares were observed on the sun and auroras were being observed in different parts of the world. Just before noon on September 1st, Richard Carrington was using his telescope to project an 11-inch wide image of the sun on a screen and he carefully drew the sunspots that he saw. Suddenly, two brilliant beads of blinding white light appeared over the sunspots and he realized that he was witnessing something unprecedented. He left for about one minute to find another witness and found upon their return that much had already subsided.

Just before dawn the next day, skies all over Earth erupted in red, green and purple auroras - even in tropical locations like Cuba, the Bahamas and Hawaii. The massive solar flare caused a major CME that reached the Earth some 17.6 hours later. Normally such a journey takes 3 or 4 days, but an earlier CME actually cleared the way of the ambient solar plasma for the second blast to move so quickly. The auroras were so bright over the Rocky Mountains that their glow awoke gold miners who began preparing breakfast because they thought it was morning. People in the northeastern US could read a newspaper by the aurora’s light. Telegraph systems all over Europe and North America went haywire and, in some cases, telegraph operators were literally shocked as sparks were flying and telegraph paper was often set on fire. Some systems continued to work despite being disconnected from their power supplies as aurora-induced electric currents still allowed messages to be transmitted.

Now we know that solar flares happen frequently, especially during solar sunspot maximums, but in those days there were no X-ray satellites or radio telescopes and no one knew flares existed until that September morning. “It is rare that one can actually see the brightening of the solar surface which takes a lot of energy to heat up the surface of the sun” says a modern day NASA astronomer. “In the 160-year record of geomagnetic storms, the Carrington event is the biggest.” In fact, going back farther in time by examining Arctic ice (energetic particles leave nitrates in ice cores), it is estimated that this event may have been the biggest in 500 years and nearly twice as big as the runner-up.

In today’s world, electronic technologies have become embedded into everyday life and are, of course, quite vulnerable to solar activity. Power lines, long-distance telephone cables, radar, cell phones, GPS, satellites – all could be significantly affected by an event like this one. The good news is that observations of the sun are a constant in today’s world with a fleet of spacecraft in position to monitor the sun and gather data on solar flares. The bad news is that the Carrington Event occurred during a weak solar cycle (10) which actually resembles rather closely our current solar cycle (24) so we always have to stay on guard for a potential powerful solar storm - even during times of weak solar cycles.

Above: A modern solar flare recorded Dec. 5, 2006, by the X-ray Imager onboard NOAA's GOES-13 satellite. This flare was so intense it actually damaged the instrument that took the picture. Researchers believe Carrington's flare was much more energetic than this one.

7:00 AM | Very warm pattern sticks around in the southern Rockies through the holiday weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, very warm, highs in the low 90’s

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, lows by morning in the low-to-mid 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, very warm, low 90’s

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, low-to-mid 60’s

Sunday

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

Monday

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

Tuesday

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

Wednesday

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

Discussion

Nearly stationary upper level high pressure remains centered in control of the weather around here and we’ll stay very warm as a result during the next several days with only a slight chance for isolated showers and thunderstorms. Temperatures should climb to or slightly surpass the 90 degree mark in the Denver metro region right into early next week which is above the normal for this time of year which is 85 degrees at Denver Airport.

7:00 AM | Looks pretty nice in southern California for the holiday weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, warm, highs in the mid 70’s along coastal locations

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, lows by morning in the upper 60’s

Saturday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Saturday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, mid-to-upper 60’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Monday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Tuesday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Wednesday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Discussion

The overall weather pattern looks quite nice for the upcoming holiday weekend with plenty of sunshine expected each day and mild temperatures reaching the middle 70’s for highs along coastal locations.

7:00 AM | Overall nice weather pattern shaping up for the long holiday weekend

6-Day Forecast

Today

Mostly sunny, warm, breezy, highs in the mid 70’s along coastal locations

Tonight

Partly cloudy, mild, breezy, lows by morning in the mid 60’s

Friday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Friday Night

Partly cloudy, mild, upper 60’s

Saturday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid-to-upper 70’s

Sunday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Monday

Mostly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Tuesday

Mainly sunny, warm, mid 70’s

Discussion

The overall weather pattern is shaping up to be quite pleasant for the upcoming holiday weekend. It looks like there will be plenty of sunshine over the next few days and temperatures will climb to the comfortably warm mid 70’s along coastal locations with even higher levels inland.