The presence of red tide -- most noticeable Tuesday and Wednesday --did not keep beachcombers away from Venice Beach on Thursday morning. (SARASOTA HERALD-TRIBUNE)

Strong gusts from the south triggered a resurgence of nasty tides and pungent air at earlier this week at Sarasota County beaches, especially Venice Beach.

By  weather.com-3-2-2013

Inmate firefighter crews set back fires to fight a fast moving brush fire as it burns everything in its path at the Santa Ana River Wildlife Area in Riverside, Calif. Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013. Evacuations were ordered as the blaze neared homes and buildings. (AP Photo/The Press-Enterprise, Terry Pierson)

RIVERSIDE, Calif.  -- Flames from a ferocious wildfire burned palm trees along residential streets and came very close to homes in inland Southern California, but waning winds have helped firefighters stop its progress.

NEW RADIATION BELT DISCOVERED: NASA's twin Van Allen Probes, launched just last August, have revealed a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth. Get the full story from Science@NASA.

GEOMAGNETIC STORM: A minor (Kp=5) geomagnetic storm is underway around the poles. The cause is a medium-speed (~500 km/s) stream of solar wind that hit Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of Feb. 28th. Reports of auroras are coming in from around tthe Arctic Circle, like these photographed by Frank Olsen of over Norway:

"The weather here in Vesterålen has been terrible for more than a week," says Olsen. "I was so glad the clouds parted so we could catch the auroras at 1:30 am local time on March the 1st."

More auroras are in the offing. NOAA forecasters estimate a 20% to 25% chance of polar geomagnetic storms on March 2-3 as the solar wind continues to blow. Aurora alerts: text, voice.

Daily weather forecast and wrap-up provided by redOrbit meteorologist Joshua Kelly.

redOrbit Meteorologist Joshua Kelly

Big Story Weather from February 27: The snow started to finally wind down in the Northeast as the low began to push outwards towards sea. High pressure sliding into the country has started its cool down effects with some places running 10-15 degrees below normal.