It looks like we will go back into an extended dry stretch again as a broad ridge of high pressure builds back across the west coast. Clouds will decrease throughout the region Saturday, and the skies should be mostly clear for a few days thereafter. Temperatures will climb from the mid-50s Saturday to the low 60s on Sunday, and will likely continue to rise into the mid-60s by the middle of next week.

The last couple of days we’ve been talking about the demise of “The Blob.” Caused by “The Ridiculously Resilient Ridge” of high pressure off the coast of the western US, it’s hard to say whether the Blob (a very warm pool of water off our coast) caused the drought, or was a reflection of the RR Ridge which caused the drought and created the warm water in the Blob. Certainly the ridge was the chief factor in the previous couple of dry winters, but the warm water created by the ridge also very likely reinforced the ridge, which is why some drought patterns can last for several years. Fortunately, other global factors, including our El Niño, finally overcame our blocking pattern, and the Blob is dead…at least for now.