While the forecast remains dry through the rest of the week, there is a steady and persistent cool down that will cause some issues across the region, not the least of which involves an increasing fore danger. An offshore low pressure center will slowly move into the Pacific Northwest, and a dry cold front will bring gusty winds to the region for the next several days. As a result, the fire danger will be elevated each afternoon through Thursday at least, and blowing dust will likely make things challenging for the Burners in the Black Rock Desert. High temperatures will drop from the low 90s Tuesday into the upper 80s Wednesday, and continue to fall though the week so that we will barely see 80 by the weekend.

A reader asks: ““I hike Mt. Whitney every year. One year a hiker was up there when a fog cloud came down. He said blue sparks were dancing on a hiker’s wool cap ahead of him and then sparks all over the rocks surrounding the summit hut. What could cause that?” Most likely he was witnessing St. Elmo’s Fire. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you more about this strange phenomenon.