Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Hold onto Your Hats, It's Going to be a Windy Ride

Staff Writer, DB Holmes
Weather / Air Quality
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Wind, wind, and more wind... is this Arizona? Triple digits this weekend could end that debate. So get out the pool supplies and water launchers, summer is here, even for just the weekend.
Forecast Discussion: Strong, gusty northerly winds will continue through midday Thursday as high pressure to the west is fighting to push the trough to the east of Arizona out of the way. That trough will pick up anchor on Thursday allowing the west coast ridge of high pressure to move over Arizona by Friday. Much lighter winds are expected Friday through the weekend under sunny skies. Daytime highs will also reach the middle to upper 90s on Saturday and Sunday. The air quality will also improve the next few days. Particulates have been held nicely in the Good range of the Air Quality Index (AQI) the past couple days due to northerly winds. Ozone, however, has pushed into the middle Moderate range at multiple Valley locations. Concentrations are starting lower this morning and we should see maximum ozone levels back in the Good range perhaps by today, but most likely by Thursday.
The weather forecast for the next week: 



Source: AIRNow, Weather Channel