Have you been enjoying this beautiful stretch of weather? It's been dry, sunny and warm—and it's part of a weather feature called an anticyclone that acts like a weather shield. So what does this mean for our area?

This area of high pressure, which is giving us the beautiful sunshine, is called an anticyclone. It's a massive area of high pressure that moves very slowly and actually blocks storms, keeping calm conditions hyper-local.

This is what it looks like on a weather map: a robust area of clear air and sunshine with no storms and no clouds. An anticyclone is the opposite of a cyclone.

Depending on which side of the anticyclone you're on determines the weather conditions. For now, we're on the eastern side of it, cycling in dry and cool air. But as we head toward the weekend, things will change. The anticyclone moves offshore, and we'll be on its western side, which will cycle in warmer and muggier conditions.

That's why it's going to feel like summer as we head into the weekend, but after that comes unsettled weather. As the anticyclone moves away, it's replaced by low pressure and stormy conditions.