There were some thunderstorms in Northern California that produced wind, lightning, even heat bursts, but very little precipitation. Dry lightning just means that you have a thunderstorm with cloud-to-ground lightning that can spark fires, co-occurring with either very little or no precipitation at all. “The big problem with the lightning that occurred this weekend in Northern California is that much of it was dry lightning. Some of these fires last night made really unbelievably large runs in the Santa Cruz Mountains in the hills east of Napa, and are now threatening populated areas really in almost every corner of the Bay Area.”ĭid these storms come with rain, and why didn't that help abate some fires? What happened next was over the weekend, a very unusual system of thunderstorms brought thousands of lightning strikes to Northern California, centered actually on the San Francisco Bay Area in particular.Īnd since that time, dozens – if not more - of brand new wildfires have sprung up in the wake of that lightning storm. So the backdrop of all of this is extreme heat over a relatively prolonged period. The backdrop is essentially a record-breaking prolonged heat wave that's been going on now for over a week in some places, and has broken a number of long-standing temperature records, both in Northern and Southern California near the coast and even in the inland deserts.ĭeath Valley hit 130 degrees this weekend. KCRW talks with UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain about why this extreme weather is happening, and whether this kind of heat and humidity should be expected every summer in Southern California.ĭaniel Swain: “It really is a confluence of multiple extreme events occurring simultaneously throughout the state. Grateful for our firefighters, first responders, and everyone on the frontlines protecting Californians during this time. We’re currently battling 367 known fires. And everyone is stuck at home because of the COVID-19 crisis.ĬA has experienced 10,849 lightning strikes in the last 72 hours and WORLD RECORD heat temperatures. There’s record heat and rolling blackouts. It is expected to curl north this weekend and veer farther west into the Pacific, where it will eventually peter out.Multiple wildfires are burning across the state, and some are inducing tornadoes. Thomas said the rains from the storms, if they are concentrated in the right spot, could decrease the intensity of the fire, or even put it out.ĭolores on Friday night was around 500 miles west of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It had damaged at least five homes and ripped through dozens of vehicles that were abandoned on I-15. The rain – which was already falling Saturday in the southwestern portion of the county – may help firefighters tame the several fires in the region, including the North fire blaze, a conflagration in the Cajon Pass that erupted Friday afternoon.Īs of Friday night, the North fire was estimated at 3,500 acres. “The lightning strikes could spark additional fires, but we do see the wetting rains with these thunderstorms.” “It’s bittersweet,” said James Thomas, a National Weather Service meteorologist based in San Diego. Thunderstorms spun off from Tropical Cyclone Dolores are striking the Inland region this weekend, raising fears of mudslides and flooding in and around Big Bear and fresh fires from lightning strikes.
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