the heat is on

With apologies to Glen Frey. The heat is on, as the high temperature in Chico today reached 100 degrees. Triple digit heat will rule the next five days, with Friday being the hottest day. High temps Friday will range between 105-110 in some parts of the Sacramento Valley. We should cool (cool being a relative term) by early next week as temps dip below 100 degrees next Tuesday through Thursday. Overnight lows won't cool off that much, either- mainly in the mid 60s to low 70s through the period. Here is Chico's specific seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Calm wind becoming northeast around 5 mph. Thursday Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 68. South southwest wind around 6 mph becoming northeast in the evening. Friday Sunny and hot, with a high near 106. Light and variable wind becoming west northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Friday Night Clear, with a low around 69. Light and variable wind becoming east northeast around 5 mph after midnight. Saturday Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Sunday Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 66. Monday Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Tuesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Wednesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 96.

extended period of heat; smoke bothers Chico

The smoke from the Chips fire over 40 miles to our northeast is hovering over Chico and the nearby foothills this morning. It almost looks like fog, it's so thick. The smoke hung over the area yesterday morning, as well, though not as bad as this morning. Fortunately, the smoke cleared out as a southerly flow blew the smoke out of the valley. I hope this happens this morning. Also, expect a long period of hot weather in the upper 90s and 100s through early next week as high pressure exerts control over the area. Right now the hottest day appears to be Saturday, with highs between 104-108 degrees. Ugh! I'm ready for summer to be over and done. Not for awhile, apparently. Smoke and heat- two of my least favorite weather conditions. Here is Chico's forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 64. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Wednesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Calm wind becoming south southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph becoming northeast in the evening. Thursday Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Calm wind becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Friday Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 67. Saturday Sunny and hot, with a high near 104. Saturday Night Clear, with a low around 67. Sunday Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 68. Monday Sunny and hot, with a high near 100.

get ready for more heat

We've gotten a little break from the heat this weekend as monsoonal moisture, haze and smoke obscured the sun yesterday. Yesterday's high temperature was 89 degrees; today, with the help of a southerly flow of air, the high was only 92 degrees. Today's visibility was much improved over yesterday as that low pressure system (see earlier posts) helped to blow the smoke from the Chips fire away from us. No rain fell in the Chico area yesterday. There have been thunderstorms over both the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada today, but the valley and Sierra foothills have been sunny all day. The break from the heat ends tomorrow, as mid 90s return. It'll only get hotter as the week progresses, and triple digits will rule Thursday through next Sunday. Summer isn't over yet, obviously. Here is Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 60. Southeast wind 5 to 11 mph. Monday Sunny, with a high near 95. Light and variable wind. Monday Night Clear, with a low around 63. South wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable in the evening. Tuesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 98. Light and variable wind. Tuesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64. East southeast wind around 5 mph. Wednesday Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Thursday Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Thursday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Friday Sunny and hot, with a high near 103. Friday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 65. Saturday Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Sunday Sunny and hot, with a high near 100.

chance of thunderstorms for valley and mountains

From the National Weather Service in Sacramento: MONSOONAL MOISTURE MOVING INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA WILL COMBINE WITH A WEATHER DISTURBANCE PASSING OVER THE AREA LATER TODAY TO SPARK THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY TONIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ARE EXPECTED IN THE CENTRAL VALLEY AND SIERRA FOOTHILLS WITH SCATTERED STORMS OVER THE SIERRA...SOUTHERN CASCADES...AND MOUNTAINS WEST OF THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. ANY THUNDERSTORMS THAT FORM WILL INITIALLY HAVE LITTLE TO NO RAIN...POSING INCREASED FIRE DANGER. GUSTY WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE ALONG WITH BRIEF HEAVY RAIN ONCE PRECIPITATION IS ABLE TO REACH THE GROUND. THUNDERSTORMS WILL DIMINISH ACROSS THE AREA SUNDAY MORNING FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST AS DRIER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION.

Red Flag Warning

This doesn't affect Chico directly, but it does for the nearby communities east of Chico, including Paradise and Magalia. From the National Weather Service: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO HAS ISSUED A RED FLAG WARNING FOR THUNDERSTORMS...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM SATURDAY TO 5 PM PDT SUNDAY. * AFFECTED AREA...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 213 EASTERN PORTION OF SHASTA/TRINITY NF...FIRE WEATHER ZONE 214 BURNEY BASIN AND NORTHEAST PLATEAU IN SHASTA COUNTY INCLUDING NORTHWEST LASSEN NF NORTH OF LASSEN NP AND FIRE WEATHER ZONE 266 NORTHERN SIERRA FOOTHILLS FROM 1000 TO 3000 FT. INCLUDES PORTIONS OF SHASTA- TRINITY AND BUTTE UNITS. * THUNDERSTORMS...SCATTERED HIGH BASED STORMS WITH LIMITED PRECIPITATION OUTSIDE OF THE HEAVIER RAIN CORES. * OUTFLOW WINDS...WINDS LOCALLY GUSTING TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH 50 MPH DOWNDRAFTS POSSIBLE IN VICINITY OF ANY THUNDERSTORMS. * IMPACTS...LIGHTNING STRIKES WITH DRY FUELS AND LITTLE RAIN RAISE THE POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT FIRE DANGER. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A RED FLAG WARNING MEANS THAT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EITHER OCCURRING NOW...OR WILL SHORTLY. A COMBINATION OF STRONG WINDS...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY...AND WARM TEMPERATURES WILL CREATE EXPLOSIVE FIRE GROWTH POTENTIAL. The Chips fire northeast of Chico has been burning for the past five days in the Feather River canyon. Smoke from that fire has diminished visibility down to the valley floor. Please be careful and do not do ANY burning outdoors. Be especially careful of flicking lighted cigarette butts out of the car window. Be fire safe!

not much heat relief

Interesting. Looking at current temperatures in Chico, there is a ten degree difference between the Chico State University farm temperature (62 degrees) versus the Chico Municipal Airport temperature (72 degrees). These two weather reporting stations are less than 10 miles apart. Perplexing. Anyway, there is not much heat relief on the way the next several days. High temperatures have been in the upper 90s to 100 degrees the past few days, and that trend looks to continue. Highs today should be around 101, dropping slightly into the mid 90s this weekend. Highs will stay in the mid 90s through much of next week. Well, I guess it could be hotter this time of year, so mid 90s isn't TOO bad. Not too much happening event-wise in Chico this weekend. It's the calm before the storm- students return for classes at Chico State in a couple of weeks, and the town should be super busy at that time. For now, Chico still slumbers. For info on events and happenings, check out the link to the Chico News and Review on the right-hand side of my blog page. Here is Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Calm wind becoming south 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 63. South wind 5 to 8 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. Saturday Mostly sunny, with a high near 95. Light south southeast wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Saturday Night Isolated showers and thunderstorms before 11pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Southeast wind 7 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%. Sunday Mostly sunny, with a high near 93. South wind around 7 mph. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 61. Monday Sunny, with a high near 94. Monday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 62. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 93. Tuesday Night Clear, with a low around 61. Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 93. Wednesday Night Clear, with a low around 63. Thursday Sunny and hot, with a high near 96.

heat in full effect

The temperature reached 99 degrees in Chico yesterday, and despite the relatively low humidity, it was still hot. That 99 degree temperature was in the shade, so being in the sun made it feel much hotter. The heat will continue the rest of this work week, abating somewhat by this weekend. It will still be above average through next week, however. Overnight lows will begin to cool, as well. This morning's low in Chico was 70 degrees, eight degrees above the average low for this date. By this weekend, lows should be around the average of 62. Again, if working outdoors, take frequent breaks in the shade and drink plenty of water. Do not leave pets or children inside cars while running errands. The inside temperature in a car left in the sun can get up to 20 degrees warmer than the outside temperature. In other words- it can kill. Just be careful out there. Here is Chico's seven day forecast from the National Weather Service: Today Sunny and hot, with a high near 101. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon. Tonight Clear, with a low around 62. South wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable after midnight. Thursday Sunny and hot, with a high near 102. Light and variable wind. Thursday Night Clear, with a low around 64. South wind around 5 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. Friday Sunny and hot, with a high near 99. Calm wind. Friday Night Clear, with a low around 63. Saturday Sunny, with a high near 95. Saturday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 63. Sunday Sunny, with a high near 95. Sunday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 62. Monday Sunny, with a high near 94. Monday Night Clear, with a low around 62. Tuesday Sunny, with a high near 95.