Carson City weather: Smoke to linger, dry lightning storms possible Tuesday
With a chance for thunderstorms and winds expected to kick up with them, the National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch covering much of the Carson City region beginning Tuesday afternoon.
Scattered thunderstorms are possible Tuesday afternoon and continue well into Tuesday evening, along with outflow winds gusts of 50 mph, according to the weather service.
The concern is these storms will produce dry lightning that can create new fire starts. Combined with strong outflow winds, fires can rapidly grow in size and intensity.
Drift smoke from California wildlfires are expect to linger this week, conditions degrading if wind direction changes and how intense the fires will burn, according to AirNow.gov. At 9:30 a.m. Monday the Air Quality Index for the Gardnerville area was 132, or "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" and in Carson City, 72, which is considered "moderate."
The Fire Weather Watch is in effect from noon to midnight Tuesday.
The weather service advises people to void outdoor activities that can cause a spark near dry vegetation, such as yard work, target shooting, or campfires. Follow local fire restrictions. Threats also include brief heavy rainfall, small hail and possible debris flows on burn scars.
Meanwhile, temperatures around Carson City, Carson Valley and Dayton areas will cool down some this week, with highs in the low 90s Monday, upper 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday and low 90s for Thursday and Friday.