Northern California hit with red flag warning for critical fire weather. What to know
Weather officials have issued a red flag warning for this weekend spanning a large stretch of the Sacramento Valley, denoting that dangerous wildfire weather is inbound for Northern California at a historically early point in the year.
The warning, issued just before noon by the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, spans from 5 a.m. Saturday through 5 p.m. Sunday. It covers a stretch of the valley including all of Sacramento County, along with parts of Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Placer, Solano, Sutter, Tehama, Yolo and Yuba counties.
Northerly winds are forecast to hit sustained speeds of up to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph in some parts of the valley, coinciding with warm weather and dry conditions, according to the weather service.
The greatest threat will be on the west side of the valley, near and west of Interstate 5 and Interstate 505, according to the warning.
The weather service in a bulletin said April 9 would mark the earliest spring red flag warning ever issued for interior Northern California.
Forecasts show the capital city is predicted to reach 78 degrees on Saturday and 73 on Sunday, with gusts each day expected to top 35 mph.
Those conditions come after Sacramento approached heat records late in the week, with downtown soaring to 90 degrees on Thursday, 1 degree shy of the daily record and 18 degrees hotter than normal for this time of year, weather service records show.
California is entering a third year of drought after abysmal precipitation totals January through March, and authorities are preparing for a long, bad wildfire season.
Red flag warnings are used to advise that weather conducive to critical wildfire risk are imminent.
Nearly all of California’s most destructive and deadliest wildfires in recent years have emerged during red flag warnings.
Cooler weather with a chance of rain showers is expected early next week. Forecasts show showers are likely Monday in Sacramento as high temperatures cool significantly, to around 60 degrees.
This story was originally published April 8, 2022 at 12:24 PM.
