Wind, low humidity prompt red flag warning for Sacramento and Northern San Joaquin valleys
The National Weather Service in Sacramento has issued a red flag warning from Sunday through Tuesday evening for interior Northern California as gusty wind combines with dry weather to create the potential for a rapidly growing wildfire.
The warning was upgraded from a fire weather watch on Saturday afternoon and is the first alert of its kind for the region this year.
The potentially dangerous weather conditions are expected to develop Sunday afternoon over the Sacramento Valley, the Northern San Joaquin Valley and portions of the Delta and lower foothills, according to the weather service. The strongest wind was expected along the west side of the Sacramento Valley, and the wind speed is expected to decrease Tuesday evening. Relative humidities were expected in the single digits, forecasters said.
Yolo County and western Placer County were listed as affected areas in the alert, along with Yuba, Sutter, Yuba, Glenn, Colusa, Butte, San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties.
Afternoon humidity levels are expected to drop into the teens and even single digits locally, along with poor humidity recoveries overnight. The weather service expects to see breezy north to east 15 to 20 mph wind Sunday and Monday with valley wind gusts up to 25 to 40 mph.
“These factors along with unseasonably dry fuels will bring the potential for critical fire weather mid-day Sunday into Tuesday afternoon,” according to the weather service alert issued Friday afternoon.
This story was originally published April 30, 2021 at 3:27 PM.
