February and temperatures in the 70s typically aren’t associated with each other, but that’s likely what we are going to get for the next couple of days. The ridge of high pressure will still allow a small amount of overrunning cloudiness to pass by, but it won’t slow down the warming. The record high for Friday (71) is likely to be passed, as is the record high for Saturday (68.) Temperatures drop slightly on Sunday, and then fall back into the 50s for President’s Day Monday. At this time, there are no storms on the 7-day horizon.

Yesterday, I introduced you to the concept of latent heat. Latent heat is a very important factor in the physical chemistry of our air. The amount of water vapor in the air not only is a factor in producing rain directly, but it changes the thermal makeup of the atmosphere as well. Computer models used in forecasting have to take latent heat into consideration in order to be at all accurate.

Hmmm…that gives me a great excuse for the next forecast that busts. “Latent Heat Error.” I like the sound of that.