Carson City area weather: Gusty winds, low humidity prompt red flag warning
Gusty winds and low humidity expected over the next couple of days has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Red Flag Warning for Sunday and Monday for much of western Nevada and the Sierra.
Dry and gusty winds are expected Sunday and Monday. The red flag warning is for noon to 11 p.m. Sunday and again from noon to 11 p.m. Monday.
The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them.
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 and follow local fire restrictions.
According to the NWS weather discussion:
For Sunday and Monday, deeper troughing along the west coast will kick up winds to higher speeds each afternoon-evening, with peak gusts in the 35-45 mph range and humidities dropping to the 7-12% range for western NV and 10-20% near the Sierra.
These values are typically associated with critical fire weather conditions, so the Red Flag Warnings will remain in effect even though temperatures will begin trending down a few degrees each day. Humidity recoveries will be marginal for western NV, mainly in the 30-50% range (lower end of this range for midslopes/ridges). For eastern CA, recoveries will be somewhat better (about 40-70%) but still below average for early June.
Gusty winds will continue Tuesday and Wednesday, but daytime humidities should be trending slowly upward as the trough approaches and brings much cooler daytime temperatures. Tuesday still has the potential for critical fire weather conditions so we'll continue to evaluate the need for fire products on that day, but humidity is looking less likely to reach critical values on Wednesday.
Check weather.gov/reno for updates and livingwithfire.info for preparedness tips.