Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys face a fire weather watch early next week
The National Weather Service issued a fire weather watch for early next week as gusty winds are expected to blow through most of the Sacramento and northern San Joaquin valleys amid potentially dangerous wildfire conditions.
The target area for the fire weather watch, which was issued Thursday afternoon, includes Sacramento, Yolo, western Placer, Sutter and Yuba counties, along with Stanislaus, San Joaquin, Butte, Colusa, Glenn and Solano counties, according to the Weather Service in Sacramento.
The fire weather watch will remain in effect from Monday afternoon through Tuesday evening, and outdoor burning was not recommended. The Weather Service said gusty wind combined with dry conditions and a minimum humidity of 10% to 20%, and overnight recoveries of 25% to 50%, could mean any wildfires that develop likely would spread rapidly.
Forecasters were monitoring weather conditions for potentially strong wind early next week. The Weather Service said maximum wind gusts could reach 25 mph to 35 mph, and in some areas up to 45 mph, in the western portions of the Sacramento Valley into the northern part of the San Joaquin Valley.
A winter storm that moved into the region Thursday was expected to produce little to no rain in the Sacramento Valley. Sacramento can expect a 30% chance of rain Thursday and Friday, according to the Weather Service.
But forecasters expect the storm to drop some snow in the higher elevations of Northern California, prompting Caltrans crews to temporarily close three Sierra Nevada mountain passes for at least two days starting Thursday afternoon.
Caltrans officials said the closures of Ebbetts Pass on Highway 4, Sonora Pass on Highway 108 and Monitor Pass on Highway 89 were necessary to ensure motorist safety in advance of the storm, and they will consider reopening the mountain passes after reevaluating weather and road conditions on Saturday.
This story was originally published October 7, 2021 at 4:01 PM.
