Hot temperatures in baking Southern California over Labor Day weekend will continue this week, coupled with thunderstorms and lightning strikes that will exacerbate fire risks in much of the state.
Monsoon swelling, not uncommon in the summer months, entered the state from the Southwest Desert area earlier Tuesday, bringing lightning into most of California. Monsoon thunderstorms can trigger dust storms, lightning outbreaks of wildfires and downpours, causing flooding.
Lightning, accompanied by potential wind gusts of up to 50 mph, has high temperatures reach triple digits in some areas, significantly increasing fire weather problems at least Friday at least Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Meteorologists tracked 50 to 100 lightning strikes per hour in Southern California Tuesday morning, said Bryan Lewis, a meteorologist with the Oxnard National Weather Service.
“It’s a lot of energy,” Lewis said. “There’s definitely a concern for the fire to start due to lightning strikes. I think lightning and wind are the biggest concern at the moment.”
In the north of Stanislaus County, a grass fire broke out shortly after a lightning storm passed through the area earlier Tuesday. The cause of the fire was not yet determined to burn 300 acres soon.
The crew also continued to fight the garnet fire, a fire caused by lightning in the Sierra National Forest last week. According to the Forest Service, the fire had burned 24,800 acres as of Tuesday, with 12% of the burn.
Meteorologists predict that thunderstorms directly affect garnet fires are 50% chances, with firefighters spreading around 3 a.m. Tuesday in the area.
“In addition to the threat of a new start, the strong, unstable outflow winds of convective activities may affect the spread of the fire and threaten the safety of firefighters,” the Forest Service wrote in a press release.
According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Department, a lightning storm in the summer of 2020 sparked a series of intense fires—the Northern Complex Fire, the LNU Lightning Complex Fire and Czu Lightning Complece Fire—collected to burn 800,000 acres, killing at least 22 people, and killing at least 22 people.
Starting Tuesday at noon, Sacramento goes all the way to San Diego County. In Southern California, the heaviest storms will focus on the Antelope Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains on Wednesday night, which will bring about 30 to 50% chance of flooding, including scars from bridge fires.
According to the weather service, peak rainfall rates can range from between half an inch per hour to one inch per hour.
The Weather Bureau wrote on X: “Any storm can lead to short heavy rain, sudden strong winds, dangerous lightning, and fire.
Flood surveillance has been released for part of Central California, including the Kern Valley, Glen Grove, India’s Wells Valley, King’s Canyon National Park, the Mojave Desert, Tehachabe and the southern end of the Upper Mountains until an excessive amount of runoff was warned of Wednesday evening, which could lead to rivers, creeks and stream-flooded low-rise areas.
In Southern California, the Meteorological Services warned of moderate to heavy rains for Death Valley National Park, the Mojave Desert in the East and West, and the Molongo Basin.
Meanwhile, a thermal consultation remains in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, with daytime temperatures reaching high in the 90s. Mercury in Clarita, Woodland Hills and Palm Springs could rise to more than 100 times.
