What? Fire Weather This Early?

Well, yes and no...
I was knockin' about on the net, looking for some weather stations for San Francisco Bay fishing intel gathering, and for the potential CorduroyPlanet PWS Toolbox. Clicking through some of my weather links, I noticed a "Red Flag" Warning had been issued for the Truckee-Tahoe Area for Monday night.

I clicked onto the Reno AFD, and the Fire Weather was cited in the discussion's first paragraph. Warm temps, low humidity, and afternoon winds tripped the Warning. No thunderstorms were forecast, so it's just erring on the side of caution.

I don't have the opportunity to listen to the CDF CalFire Morning Reports when I'm away from the DaveCave. When I'm at home and there's thunderstorm activity forecast, I fire up my Police Scanner and listen in. The Morning Report from the Grass Valley HQ includes a very detailed Fire Weather Forecast , right down to the Fuel Moisture figures. In some ways, listening to the report is richer than just reading the data...often the officer giving the report will add little asides as he delivers his spiel, highlighting things that aren't obvious, or are unique to his situational know-how.

Even though the High Sierra has been warm...which is to say near seasonal temps for the last few weeks, I gotta believe the forest is still "Springtime Fresh"...that is to say still a long ways from Sept/Oct fuel moisture levels. This week I noticed many ski resort webcam images were free of snow for the first time since November.

Wednesday Afternoon
It's quite a bit cooler today here in the Inland Valley. It's only 63F at 2PM, and the Marine Layer really hung on this morning. The cloud cover didn't really clear off until after noon.

I've been keeping tabs on the Delta Winds since our halibut fishing blowout Monday. Mark Finan, KCRA3's Senior Weatherman has been tweeting delta wind updates several times a day since Sunday. Finan's a fellow WeatherGeek, so the data he's been tweeting has been really fun to follow.

This one from Monday evening was interesting: @MarkFinan "It's interesting to watch the Delta breeze work. It's warmer in the foothills now than it is in Stockton"

From Saturday 9:40PM @MarkFinan "The delta breeze.... Auburn is 90. Sac is 83 and Fairfield is 70."

Last night on KCRA's 11 O'clock News they featured a video of a Fairfield Auto Dealer's Lot, with several of those tall flags flapping in the wind, as their lead-in to the Weather Segment. Those flags were really whipping...it looked like hat chasing wind.

Wednesday Night
I looked at Reno's AFD during the 7th inning of the Giants/Dodgers game. No thunderstorms in the mountains for a few days anyway. But hey kids...be careful up there...don't play with matches! Dads, be careful with those mowers and chainsaws...and carry that fire extinguisher!