Parts of Northern California to see ‘dangerously hot’ conditions — bringing wildfire worries
An extreme heat wave will broil northern portions of the Sacramento Valley beginning Thursday and lasting through at least Friday, forecasts show, while hot but more modest temperatures will develop near California’s capital region.
Highs in parts of the Valley and foothills are expected to range from 100 to 115 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service has an excessive heat warning in place for the entirety of Butte, Colusa, Shasta and Tehama counties; nearly all of Sutter and Yuba counties; the western half of Plumas County; and eastern portions of Mendocino and Humboldt counties. The warning is in place from 11 a.m. Thursday to 9 p.m. Friday.
Forecasts show Redding reaching 115 degrees Thursday, 114 on Friday and 109 on Saturday. The all-time record for Thursday’s date is 113 degrees and for Friday’s date 116, according to the weather service, both set in 2003. Redding’s hottest day ever recorded maxed out at 118 degrees.
Chico is expected to hit 107, 106 and 103 degrees those same days, respectively.
A heat advisory is also in place for the northeastern corner of the state: parts of Lassen, Modoc, Plumas and Siskiyou will all face “dangerously hot” conditions from 11 a.m. Thursday to 10 p.m. Saturday, according to the weather service.
“It’s just a very strong high pressure system that is bringing very hot temperatures to the area,” said Idamis Del Valle-Shoemaker, a forecaster with the NWS Sacramento office.
Extreme heat is also forecast for the Pacific Northwest, where places such as Seattle are on track to break records.
Meanwhile, Sacramento is only predicted to reach 98 degrees Thursday and 99 on Friday before dropping to the low-to-mid 90s by the weekend, as the heat wave stays concentrated north of the immediate capital region.
Thank the Delta breeze for that.
“There’s still enough onshore flow influence along the southern Sacramento Valley to keep the temperatures a bit moderate,” Del Valle-Shoemaker said. “In this case, heat risk won’t be as much of a concern. ... The Delta breeze will keep things slightly cooler.
“When I say slightly cooler, they’re still in the upper 90s.”
Del Valle-Shoemaker advised residents in areas with extreme heat, especially the northern Sacramento Valley, to stay hydrated, use air conditioning and avoid being outdoors in the sun from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What about wildfires?
The weather service has not issued any formal wildfire weather advisories for Northern California, but the National Interagency Fire Center in a Thursday bulletin said “exceptionally hot-dry conditions” across the West Coast heat wave will broadly enhance wildfire risk.
A map of the U.S. from the interagency center showing shows “high” fire danger throughout much of California’s Central Valley and foothills, with patches of “very high” danger near Shasta and Tehama counties.
There is also a broad swath of “very high” fire risk near the convergence of California, Oregon and Nevada, mostly in the latter two states.
Crews in recent days have made some steady progress on existing large wildfires, including the now-19,000-acre Oak Fire burning at Yosemite National Forest, which Cal Fire and federal agencies reported Thursday morning at 39% containment.
But authorities are also bracing for increased activity.
“With higher temperatures and lower humidity, crews may observe increased fire behavior,” Cal Fire wrote in a Thursday morning incident update on the Oak Fire.
Where will it be cooler?
Some respite from the impending heat can be found in the Bay Area or near Tahoe.
Highs near South Lake Tahoe are expected to peak Friday and Saturday at about 84 degrees, which is only a couple of degrees above normal for late July.
San Francisco will top out around 67 degrees through the weekend, with gusts up to 30 mph possible.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 10:10 AM.
