Red Flag Warning issued October 15 at 9:46AM PDT until October 19 at 5:00PM PDT by NWS San Francisco CA
…RED FLAG WARNING NOW IN EFFECT THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
EVENING FOR THE BAY AREA AND CENTRAL COAST AS STRONG OFFSHORE
WINDS AND CRITICALLY DRY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP…
.Gusty north-northeast winds are expected to develop as an
“inside slider” system moves into the Great Basin this weekend.
Humidities will still be on the higher end at the start of the
event on Thursday, but are expected to quickly dry out as low as
10% Friday and Saturday. Peak winds are expected overnight
Thursday night into Friday morning for the North Bay and Bay Area.
Most areas across the region will be affected to some degree,
with likely exceptions being the immediate Big Sur coast, Monterey
Bay coast, and the Marin/Sonoma coast. Winds largely on the order
of 25-35 mph can be expected with gusts to 45 mph…isolated
gusts to 65 mph across the highest terrain and ridgetops, most
notably the North Bay Interior Mountains and the Diablo Range.
* AFFECTED AREA…Fire Weather Zone 006 San Francisco, Fire
Weather Zone 502 Marin Coastal Range, Fire Weather Zone 503
Sonoma Coastal Range, Fire Weather Zone 504 North Bay Interior
Mountains, Fire Weather Zone 506 North Bay Interior Valleys,
Fire Weather Zone 508 San Francisco Bay Shoreline, Fire
Weather Zone 509 San Francisco Peninsula Coast, Fire Weather
Zone 510 East Bay Interior Valleys, Fire Weather Zone 512
Santa Cruz Mountains, Fire Weather Zone 513 Santa Clara Valley
Including San Jose, Fire Weather Zone 514 Eastern Santa Clara
Hills and Fire Weather Zone 515 East Bay Hills.
* TIMING…11 PM Thursday until 5 PM Saturday
* WINDS…North and northeast 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45
mph. Potential for gusts up to 65 mph along ridgetops and the
highest terrain.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…As low as 10 percent.
* LIGHTNING…None.
* IMPACTS…The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can
cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity. Outdoor
burning is not recommended. Despite recent cool weather and high
humidity, we are expecting a widespread and prolonged offshore
wind event which will likely dry fuels out very quickly given
their volatility over the past several weeks.
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions
are either occurring now…or will shortly. A combination of
strong winds…low relative humidity…and warm temperatures can
contribute to extreme fire behavior.
