While we are still likely to add a few more days onto our streak of 90 degree days, there does appear to be some relief from the heat on the way. Skies will still remain mostly clear through the next week, with occasional haze and smoke drifting into the region from the fires to our west, and temperatures will drop by the weekend to around 90 degrees. As we head into the next week, a trough of low pressure will carve out some cooler air into the west coast, dropping our highs down into the 80s, putting an end to the streak.

I’ve talked about how lightning forms before. Negative charges from the base of thunderstorms clouds induce a positive charge on the ground, and after a “stepped leader” forms out of the clouds, it causes a “return stroke” from the ground once the negatively charged leader gets close enough to the positive charges on the ground. This generally referred to as “negative” lightning, and is the most common kind. But it doesn’t always work that way… lightning can be “positive” as well. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you the difference.