Expected gusty winds and low humidity has prompted the National Weather Service in Reno to issue a Red Flag fire weather warning Thursday for western and Northern Nevada and the Sierra Front.
Southwest 15 to 20 mph with gusts 30 to 40 mph. Higher gusts likely in wind prone areas and along exposed terrain. Humidity will range from 5 to 15 percent.
The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them, according to the weather service.
The weather service advises people to avoid outdoor activities that can cause a spark near dry vegetation, such as yard work, target shooting, or campfires. Follow local fire restrictions. In Carson City, the Prison Hill OHV Trail will be closed Thursday due to high fire danger.
Here is the latest from the NWS forecast discussion page from Thursday morning.
Low pressure moving over Northern California and Nevada will bring a prolonged period of critical fire weather conditions through this evening. Winds have already begun to increase across midslopes and ridges in the Sierra early this morning, with gusts up to 50 mph in the higher elevations.
Winds will spread into the lower valleys of the Sierra, northeast California and into western Nevada later this morning and through the evening.
This is looking to be a rather solid Red Flag Event with a very strong jet (by early August standards) arriving over the region. Peak wind gusts through today look to be around 30-40 mph, with even stronger winds of 40-50 mph across upper slopes and wind prone, aligned canyons. Very poor RH recoveries (15-25%) expected across mid- slope and ridge locations this morning and again for tonight particularly from the Tahoe Basin through Lassen County as the dry slot arrives.
The brunt of the dry slot will progress farther south across the Lake Tahoe Basin and northern Mono County by this afternoon. This dry air will mix to the surface this afternoon leading to low teens and single digit humidity. The combination of very low humidity and gusty winds will create a longer than normal period of critical conditions around the region with many areas seeing critical conditions for 8-12 hours or more.
Any ongoing fires in the area and holdovers from last week’s lightning could experience rapid growth and intensity due to the strong winds, dry conditions and unstable atmosphere. Plume dominated fires are possible due to the strong instability in the area.
See CarsonWeather.com for Carson City area weather updates.
