While the triple digit temperatures will back off slightly (falling to the mid-90s by the first of next week,) various amounts of smoke and haze will still likely plague the region through the next week or so. A few afternoon clouds will begin to build up Saturday and Sunday, and by the first of next week, scattered thunderstorms could move back into the region, bringing a slight chance of getting some much needed rainfall, but also bringing the danger of lightning caused fire starts.
500 mb map Friday Afternoon
One of the most oft questions I have been asked lately is “What’s up with all this heat? Where’s it all coming from?”
To be honest with you, I think most of those who ask are just venting their spleens rather than attempting to journey into scientific discovery. Be that as it may, all this heat is coming from a very stubborn and very beefy center of high pressure centered over the Great Basin. It’s been a very stable pattern that the globe seems content to hang on to. Not only have we been hot, but as you all know, we have been pretty darn dry as well. Let’s hope that changes soon.
A Word of Weather 
In the 60s I seem to remember we had rain every afternoon and thunder and lightening and very few fires. Is this part of changing global weather patterns?
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No I don’t think so… These kind of weather patterns will change seasonally, and some years you get wet thunder storms and another year you don’t. I don’t think it really has a tie-in at all to long-term global patterns.
Also keep in mind, that most everyone’s weather memory is very faulty. Mine included. We will remember a particular weather pattern that occurred over a short period of time and we tend to expand that to be the way it always was.
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