Red Flag Warning issued October 16 at 5:30AM 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 50 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 516 Southern Salinas
Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San Antonio, Fire Weather Zone 517
Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest, Fire
Weather Zone 518 Mountains of San Benito County And Interior
Monterey County including Pinnacles National Park and Fire
Weather Zone 528 Northern Salinas Valley/Hollister Valley and
Carmel Valley.
* TIMING…11 PM Thursday until 5 PM Saturday
* WINDS…North 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.
* RELATIVE HUMIDITY…As low as 13 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.
