Don’t put away your warm weather clothes just yet, temperatures will stay about five to ten degrees above average for at least the next several days. It will be a warm weekend with temperatures in the lower 80’s and plenty of sunshine. Cooler air moves in on Wednesday, with temperatures near 78 degrees. What is causing all of this warm, dry weather? It’s called a Rex Block and is common along the west coast, especially in the spring.
The weather is all about air flow, with blocking patterns sometimes keeping the air from moving. A Rex Block does just that when an area of high pressure is located to the north of a trough. The stronger the high and low, typically the stronger the Rex Block will be. The air moves around the ridge going up and over it, but struggles to move west to east. It looks like a backwards “S”. The low is not completely cut off from the jet stream, but this current one is close. Once the ridge breaks down, the pattern can change allowing the air to flow from west to east again. Rex Blocks don’t last forever, but it’s been plaguing the Truckee Meadows all week. This is not to be confused with an omega block which has two lows on either side of a ridge. This can keep our weather pattern at a stand still too.
Long term models and the Climate Prediction Center shows a change in the weather pattern in a couple weeks. In fact, the Climate Prediction Center gives northern Nevada a 40 percent chance of having a wetter than normal end to October. Temperatures on the other hand are expected to near normal. While high temperatures will stay well above average next week, lows will be in the 40’s, which is where they should be. Have a great weekend. Follow me on Facebook at KTVN Angela Schilling for more weather updates. You can also find me on Twitter and Instagram at Angela Schilling.
