warm weekend, followed by a chilly week

Wow! The high temperature yesterday at the Chico State University Farm on the south side of town was 74 degrees! On Valentine's Day! The normal high for February 14th is 61 degrees. So, yeah, it was warm. The warmth was aided by those gusty, downsloping, northwesterly winds that were clocking in at speeds of over 25 mph during the afternoon yesterday. The winds won't be quite as fierce today, but with sunshine and mild air already in place, highs will have no problem reaching 70 degrees this afternoon. The weekend looks gorgeous, with sunny skies and highs in the mid to upper 60s. Get out and enjoy the blossoming of the almond orchards outside of town. By Tuesday, however, a change will occur as a cold low pressure system drops south from the Gulf of Alaska. Highs on Tuesday will be 20 degrees colder than they were yesterday! Look for the off-and-on showery weather to continue through next Thursday, with highs only reaching the mid 50s. Overnight lows next week will be around freezing, which doesn't bode well for the almond trees that are blossoming currently. We'll have to see how long this cold snap lasts to know the extent of any damage to the almond trees. For now, enjoy the fantastic weather this weekend! Here's Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Sunny, with a high near 69. South wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north northwest in the morning. Tonight Clear, with a low around 39. Northeast wind 3 to 8 mph. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 68. East northeast wind 5 to 7 mph becoming west northwest in the morning. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 40. North northeast wind 3 to 6 mph. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 66. North northeast wind 6 to 10 mph becoming northwest in the morning. Sunday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Washington's Birthday Partly sunny, with a high near 60. Monday Night A chance of showers. Cloudy, with a low around 38. Tuesday Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 54. Tuesday Night A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Wednesday A chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 57. Wednesday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 32. Thursday A slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 56.