Summer in March–A change?

There was little to distinguish this afternoon from one in June or July throughout much of the state…with near-100 degree temperatures in the south along with single digit humidities and the occasional wildfire. The hillsides were bare and brown in places south of Santa Barbara for the most part. In the north, the only hint that the season was not summer was the tall green grass and scattered wildflowers that adorn the hillsides. The fact that daylight lasted until nearly 7 PM probably helped, too. The warm/hot weather will continue for a while still…though probably to a lesser degree than the record-breaking heat of today. Dry weather will prevail for the next 7 days, at least. The 18z GFS is the first model run in quite a while to at least indicate the potential for some more active (and more seasonable) weather developing at some point iduring the next 2 weeks. I am very wary of any model solutions that far out, particularly when it woud involve such a departure from the current pattern. Suffice to say…it may be cooler around the middle of next week (finally!) and there could be some rain if we’re really lucky. Just for kicks: 18z GFS also showed an outbreak of Arctic air over the Golden State on day 15 or thereabouts, with cold temperatures and snow to 2000 feet in SoCal. Obviously…that’s not going to pan out. But it’s interesting to watch how much that forecast will change as we move forward…