Northern California forecast: Gusty winds pose increased wildfire risk in the Sierra (2024)

YEAH. FOUR YEARS FROM NOW. YEAH. YEAH, TOTALLY. UM, I COULD SAY THEY’LL PROBABLY BE SOME SMOG. YEAH. YOU CAN PROBABLY MAKE THAT AS A GUARANTEE, BUT HOPEFULLY IT WON’T BE OVERLY HOT. WE KNOW WE SAW THE ATHLETES GET THROUGH SOME SWEAT AND SOME SWEAT EQUITY, ESPECIALLY IN PARIS, AS WE HAD SOME HOTTER DAYS AS PART OF THEIR GAMES AS WELL. AROUND HERE WE’VE GOT A BEAUTIFUL START TO THE DAY. YOU CAN SEE THE LIVE LOOK FROM 555 CAPITOL MALL, AND WE’RE STARING AT JUST A LITTLE BIT OF A HAZE ON THE HORIZON AS THE SUN IS COMING UP. RIGHT NOW, IT’S COMFORTABLE THOUGH, 57 DEGREES. IF YOU HAVEN’T BEEN OUT THE DOOR YET IN SACRAMENTO 61, AS YOU HEAD OUT IN STOCKTON 63 FOR YOU, MODESTO AND CURRENTLY 42 AS YOU’RE MAYBE SIPPING THE COFFEE. IT’S A MONDAY. I KNOW YOU’VE GOT THAT MORNING ROUTINE READY TO GO AND GET BACK TO THE SWING OF THINGS FOR A NEW WORKWEEK. FOR SOME FOLKS, TEMPERATURE WISE, WE’RE COOLER 4 TO 7 DEGREES DOWN AROUND THE CENTRAL VALLEY. WE’RE TWO DEGREES COOLER OUT THE DOOR IN PLACERVILLE. NOT MUCH OF A CHANGE FOR THE SIERRA. I’M ALSO KEEPING MY EYE ON THE ACTIVELY BURNING WILDFIRES AROUND THE REGION, INCLUDING THE CROSIER FIRE. TALKED ABOUT THIS ONE A LOT LAST WEEK AS IT WAS PUTTING OUT A LOT OF SMOKE AND THAT SMOKE WAS BEING PUSHED INTO MANY AREAS AND UP INTO THE HIGH SIERRA. NOTICE THAT YOU CAN SEE FROM THE MORNING VIEW HERE THAT AS WE LOOK INTO AGAIN OUT TOWARDS SLATE MOUNTAIN THIS MORNING, THERE’S NOT AS MUCH SMOKE ON THE HORIZON, WHICH IS GREAT NEWS. AND THE FIREFIGHTERS WITH CAL FIRE ARE SAYING THAT THEY’RE BUILDING STRONGER CONTAINMENT LINES THANKS TO THE FAVORABLE CHANGE IN THE WEATHER PATTERN, WHICH IS GOING TO BRING TEMPERATURES DOWN FOR TODAY. WE’RE LOOKING AT MID TO UPPER 80S IN THE VALLEY, A BIT OF A BREEZE PICKING UP UP OUT OF THE SOUTHWEST WILL FEEL MORE OF THAT ON OCCASION. THIS AFTERNOON AND TODAY IN THE FOOTHILLS, WE’RE LOOKING AT HAZY SUNSHINE, LOW 80S AROUND LUNCHTIME WITH DAYTIME HIGHS IN THE MID 80S WITH SUN AND CLOUDS AND YOUR SIERRA PLANNER FOR TODAY. LOW 60S BY THE 9:00 HOUR 70S BY NOON. HIGHS GETTING INTO THE UPPER 70S AND IT IS GOING TO BE OCCASIONALLY GUSTY IN THE MOUNTAINS. BUT THERE’S AN AREA I WANT TO POINT OUT THAT’S UNDER RED FLAG CONDITIONS. IT’S JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE PRIMO CHANCES, ESPECIALLY WITH THE HUMIDITY LOWERING AND THE WINDS PICKING UP THAT IF ANY FIRES, ANY NEW FIRES START THE SPREAD COULD BE RAPID UNDER THESE TYPE OF CONDITIONS. WE HAVE WEST WINDS 20 TO 25, GUSTS UP TO 35. AND HUMIDITY IS LOW AS THOSE SINGLE DIGITS DEFINITELY NOT FAVORABLE. IF ANY NEW FIRES DO BREAK OUT. LITTLE SYSTEM GOING BY TO THE NORTH. HELP TO INCREASE OUR DELTA BREEZE, KEEPING US BELOW AVERAGE TODAY AND TOMORROW WE’LL SEE THOSE TEMPERATURES GRADUALLY BUILD A BIT MORE MIDWEEK THAN BY THE END OF THE WEEK. ANOTHER SYSTEM DROPS DOWN TO JUST FURTHER ENSURE THAT DELTA BREEZE AND THAT’S GOING TO DROP US BACK TO A PRETTY COMFORTABLE WEEKEND NEXT WEEKEND, WITH UPPER 80S TO LOW 90S AHEAD. BUT TODAY AGAIN, OCCASIONALLY BREEZY SUN AND CLOUDS WITH HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S. AND WE KIND OF JUST ST