Things will continue to heat up in the region. The weak low pressure center in eastern Washington will move off to the east, allowing a flat ridge of high pressure to build up across the west coast. High temperatures will rise to the mid-80s in Reno on Thursday, the upper 80s on Friday and could hit 90 on Saturday before falling back slightly at the end of the week. There will be enough heat around to allow some cloud formation in the afternoons, but the overall pattern is stable and the chances of thunderstorms will be very low.

Yesterday I mentioned that the most accepted explanation for arthritis sufferers additional pain during storms is pressure changes. But it is not that cut and dry. Many who have joint pain in foul weather don’t seem to have the same issue when driving over mountain passes, where the pressure changes are much more extreme than any weather change could create. Some have posited that changes in electrical charges during unsettled weather could be the issue, but if it was that, thunderstorms would probably be debilitating for osteoarthritis sufferers, and that doesn’t seem to be the case. In all likelihood it is a combination of factors, but more research is needed.