Gusts extend Northern California red flag warning ahead of warm weekend
Northern California has made it through two days of red-flag weather conditions more or less unscathed by new wildfire activity, but forecasters have extended this week’s warning yet again as gusts will persist across large portions of the state.
The National Weather Service extended a red flag warning for most of the greater Bay Area, the northern Sacramento Valley and much of the Sierra Nevada foothills to at least 6 p.m. Friday, then pushed it again through at least 8 a.m. Saturday due to continued gusty winds forecasters now say could hit 30 mph, with 40-mph gusts possible at higher elevations. The affected regions also have “very low” humidity, according to the NWS.
The warning, which has been in place since Wednesday morning, had originally been set to expire at 11 a.m. Friday.
Amid Wednesday and Thursday’s gusts, fire officials didn’t report any large new wildfires or major flare-ups on existing incidents in Northern California.
One fire in Butte County prompted a brief evacuation order Thursday afternoon within the city of Oroville, but all orders and warnings related to that incident were lifted within 45 minutes as crews quickly controlled it, according to sheriff’s and fire officials.
The wind event prompted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to institute an intentional power shutoff beginning Wednesday evening for tens of thousands of customers across Northern California, an effort to reduce wildfire risk, with the utility saying it expects to restore power later on Friday to “essentially all” customers still impacted.
How hot will Sacramento get this weekend?
Winds are expected to calm, but temperatures will stay well above average throughout interior Northern California to start the weekend. The latest NWS forecasts for Sacramento predict highs of 93 degrees Friday and 92 on Saturday, with temperatures staying in the high 80s Sunday and Monday. Historical averages for those dates are 77 or 78 degrees.
Sacramento may cool slightly by the middle of next week, with highs currently predicted to hit 85 degrees Tuesday and Wednesday, down to 82 by Thursday.
In more bad news for California’s already record-setting wildfire season, the NWS currently shows no chance of rain anywhere in the state over at least the next 10 days. Dry vegetation will remain a fire concern until there is significant and widespread precipitation.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 8:21 AM.
