Strong winds Friday around northern Nevada region prompt fire weather concerns
UPDATE 11:14AM: The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning from noon to 8 p.m. Friday for the following areas: Southern Mono County, Southern Sierra Front including Alpine, Northern Mono, Southern Lyon, and Western Mineral Counties, West Humboldt Basin in Pershing County and Lahontan Basin including Churchill and Eastern Mineral counties. The Weather Service has issued a Wind Advisory for Mono County, Mineral and Southern Lyon counties, Hawthorne, Yerington, Smith Valley, Mina, Schurz, Fernley, Fallon, Lovelock, Silver Springs, Nixon, and Imlay. Carson City, and Carson Valley are not in the Wind Advisory area.
***
Strong winds expected Friday has prompted the National Weather Service to issue high wind and fire weather watches for portions of Northern Nevada.
In a Wednesday afternoon advisory, the weather service advises the critical weather will be most extreme Friday morning through Friday evening, with Southwest winds 20 to 30 mph and gusts 55 mph to 60 mph. Stronger gusts, up to 70 mph, are possible in wind prone areas along Highway 95 near Walker lake and along the Highway 395 corridor from north of Reno south into Mono County.
It is unknown as of Thursday morning, 10:30 a.m. if the High Wind Watch and Fire Weather Watch was to be upgraded to a Red Flag Warning. A forecaster with the weather service said more information will be forthcoming Thursday as to whether the watches will be upgraded or downgraded. We will update as more information becomes available.
Humidity will be anywhere from 8 to 25 percent in the region.
The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity before first responders can contain them. Forecasters advise people to avoid outdoor activities that can cause a spark near dry vegetation, such as yard work, target shooting or campfires.
The weather service further advises that damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines and that widespread power outages are possible. Strong cross winds could create difficult travel conditions, especially for high profile vehicles. Area of blowing dust could reduce visibility to less than 1/2 mile at times, especially in the Western Nevada Basin and Range.
A few showers and cooler temperatures are likely for the weekend with warmer and drier weather expected next week, according to the weather service. We will update as more information becomes available.
- Carson City
- 000
- 395
- Afternoon
- Alert
- Alpine
- carson
- center
- City
- climate change
- community
- Community,
- cooler
- cooler temperatures
- county
- COVID-19
- Emergency
- environment
- Environmental
- equipment
- event
- events
- Fallon
- February
- fernley
- fire
- FRIDAY
- help
- highway
- Highway 395
- information
- Lake
- local
- May
- media
- Morning
- National Weather Service
- natural
- Nevada
- News
- news
- Nixon
- Northern Nevada
- NV
- NV Energy
- Order
- outdoor
- Outdoor activities
- Pershing County
- President
- public
- Public safety
- Red
- Red Flag Warning
- Restoration
- Safety
- Senate
- service
- Shooting
- Sierra
- silver
- silver springs
- Social Media
- south
- state
- strong
- Support
- tahoe
- travel
- Trees
- weather
- weather service
- Wednesday
- Weekend
- western
- wind
- Yerington
- Carson Valley
- GROW
- Lake Tahoe
- reno
- wildfire