The next week will be a lot cooler than this one has been, as a trough of low pressure sets up over the west coast. A series of weak fronts will throw variable amounts of cloudiness at us, although it is unlikely any showers will make it over the mountains before the end of the weekend. Partly cloudy skies with highs in the low 60s will take us through Sunday. Winds will be pretty stiff throughout, especially on Friday, with highs creeping into the low 60s through Monday. By Tuesday, the trough passes over us, dropping our highs into the 50s with valley rain and mountain snow.

More on Air Quality Awareness Week: Particulate pollution is more of a problem in the winter months. There are several reasons for this. Particulate pollution usually requires strong inversions in order to become more concentrated, and those inversions are much stronger in the winter. Plus, smoke and road dust, the two most common forms of particulate pollution we get here in the Truckee Meadows, are generated in greater quantities in the winter. Smoke from fireplaces and wood stoves, and road dust from sanding snowy roads.

 

How about Ozone pollution? I’ll talk about that tomorrow.