A broad ridge of high pressure will remain over the western half of the US throughout the week, keeping our skies blue and our temperatures seasonable at least. Winds should start out light in the morning, and then pick up as they typically do on a sunny summer afternoon. High temperatures will range from the low to mid 90s throughout the rest of the week.

Summer has officially been with us for a couple of weeks, but something about it bothered Tom: “Could you please explain why it is that we’ve lost 6 minutes of daylight in the AM yet NONE in the PM since the days began to get shorter last week? Why isn’t it more balanced on each end?”

It’s a little tough to explain without holding a model of the earth and the sun, but I’ll try. Basically the reason is because the earth’s orbit is elliptical. What does that have to do with the price of Tea in China? Nothing. But it has lots to do with his question.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you how the geometry of the earth’s orbit affects the timing of the sunrises and sunsets.