Tag Archive for: Red flag warnings

Western Half of U.S. To See Higher Fire Risk This Spring From Drought

Large swaths of the western and central United States are expected to see heightened wildfire risk this spring and summer because of ongoing severe drought and warmer- and drier-than-normal weather in the coming months. Fire danger is already high in some regions as active weather patterns funnel dry winds over drought-stricken landscapes.

That risk is on display this week in the Plains states, where fierce winds are targeting parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Nebraska.

December Has Been Wet in California, But a Predicted Dry Winter Means Wildfire Danger Could Return Early

Southern California’s wettest December in nearly a decade quashed any danger lingering from destructive wildfires in fall, but experts warn that red flag conditions could return as early as April.

Northern California Braces For Fire Weather As Southland Expects Rain — Those Events Are Related

Dangerous fire weather is returning to broad swaths of Northern California at the same time as Southern California is expecting its first winter storm of the season to produce widespread rain.

And the two events are related.

Red flag warnings sounding the alarm for fire weather for parts of the Bay Area and northern Sacramento Valley will go into effect from 4 a.m. Wednesday through 7 a.m. Thursday for strong, dry winds coming from the north and northeast. Velocities of 20 to 30 mph are expected, with gusts as high as 45 mph and perhaps in excess of 60 mph near such locations as Mt. St. Helena and Mt. Diablo.