Megan’s Forecast: Critical Fire Danger Wednesday & Thursday

It has been a sunny and dry Election Day, with a quick drop in temperatures tonight. A moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event will develop tomorrow, lasting through early Friday, leading to critical fire danger, especially for the inland valleys and mountains.
A Red Flag Warning will be in effect for the inland valleys from 3pm Wednesday until 7pm Thursday. Expect northeasterly winds of 15 to 25mph and gusts of 35 to 45mph. The Red Flag Warning for the mountains also begins at 3pm tomorrow but last through 11am Friday where we expect northeasterly winds of 20 to 30mph and gusts of 35 to 55mph. Isolated gusts may reach up to 60mph while humidity levels will plummet to 5 to 15% all across the county, even the coast.
While the coast and deserts won’t be in the Red Flag Warning we will still see northeasterly gusts of 15 to 40mph there and dry conditions.
The
is forecasting a ‘Moderate’ event for San Diego on Wednesday and Thursday, which means upon ignition, fires will grow rapidly and will be difficult to control.
Vegetation will dry out even more with these Santa Ana winds, making it prime for a fire spark to lead to rapid fire growth. Now is the time to go over your evacuation plan with your household and have your essential items ready to go. If you haven’t already, clear defensible space around your home, but avoid using electrical equipment, like chainsaws, that may spark a fire that could spread quickly in these dry conditions. Also, check your vehicle for anything dragging and could spark a fire as you drive.
Temperatures will be trending near to slightly above normal all week for the coast and valleys, while temperatures will drop 5 to 10 degrees below normal in the mountains and deserts starting tomorrow. It will gradually warm here by the weekend.
Offshore winds will continue through Saturday with the sea-breeze likely returning by Saturday night into Sunday but another round of mild Santa Ana winds are possible next week. It’s important to remain fire safe as Santa Ana season continues through the winter and until we see a decent storm, fire danger will remain elevated.
Coast: 68-77°
Inland: 74-80°
Mountains: 50-62°
Deserts: 68-72°