Northern California to see reprieve from heat wave in rainstorms, plus fire danger in lower Sierra

Northern California is expected to see a reprieve from this week’s heat wave — which brought triple-digit temperatures for several days — in the form of thunderstorms and rain showers on Saturday.

The strongest of these storms will hit the northernmost reaches of the state, including Redding, Eureka and other cities in the Klamath mountain range.

This area, located in the northwestern pocket of California, was issued a flash flood watch by the National Weather Service’s Sacramento office, which warned that debris flows were possible in burn scars left from several wildfires.

“Rainfall rates could exceed one half inch per hour at times today,” NWS forecasters wrote in a weather alert. “Those traveling along Interstate 5, and rural roads in Tehama and Shasta Counties, should be alert for possible roadway flooding or problems due to rock and debris flows, especially near or within burn scar areas.”

Redding, Weaverville and Eureka are all expected to see up to two inches of rain by Saturday evening.

Significant, if less impressive, rainfall is expected in a large swath of Northern California, including Chico, Yuba City, Auburn, Placerville and parts of northeastern Sacramento County in the Folsom area.

The city of Sacramento may not see much of the storm, according to forecasters — there might be a quarter inch of rain at most — but foothills communities near Grass Valley may see an inch of rain. South Lake Tahoe won’t see more than a tenth of an inch.

With the rain comes cooler weather. Sacramento will reach about 78 degrees, while Grass Valley will be 65 degrees and South Lake Tahoe will reach 59 degrees.

Further south, conditions will be drastically different. The Reno office of the NWS issued a red flag warning — indicating a heightened risk of wildfires — for areas in the southern Sierra Nevada to take effect Saturday due to low humidity and gusty winds reaching 45 miles per hour in the area.

The affected area includes parts of Mono and Alpine counties, in addition to bordering counties in Nevada.

“Recent abnormally warm weather with the combination of gusty winds and low humidity could cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them,” Reno forecasters wrote.