It will definitely be a warmer and drier finish to this week than it began. A sharp ridge of high pressure will build onshore, pushing the remains of the Inside Slider low well to our south, and warming our high temperatures into the 60s Thursday and likely to the 70 degree mark Friday through the weekend. There is a weak cold front that will try to push into the region Monday, which will give us a slight chance of a Monday shower, but at this time the odds of that turning into anything significant are slight.

As we get into the warmer spring months, it’s a good time to start thinking about the dangers of flooding. Hurricanes and tropical storms account for some of the worst flooding worldwide, but fortunately in our neck of the woods, that usually isn’t a problem. At least not directly. But there are times in the summer when Pacific hurricanes and typhoons will inject a slug of tropical moisture into the jet stream. That can get carried our way, and will often spawn some intense, flash flooding thunderstorms here in the Great Basin. But what about snowmelt? I’ll talk about that tomorrow.