Lightning threat increases Central Coast fire risk; coastal flooding alert issued for Bay Area, Monterey Bay area
A weather system off of Southern California was increasing the chances of lightning and wind gusts in the Central Coast, creating near-critical fire weather conditions in the region around the Timber Fire in Big Sur, forecasters said on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the San Francisco Bay Area was under a coastal flood advisory.
The low-pressure system about 300 miles southwest of Point Conception was driving mid-to-high level moisture to the north, setting up potential thunderstorms in Monterey and San Benito counties, according to the National Weather Service. The Central Coast region has a 15% chance of thunderstorms Wednesday through Thursday morning, and the Weather Service warned the conditions would carry significant fire weather risks, particularly in the higher elevations of the Santa Lucia Mountains and Gabilan Range above 1,500 feet.
The western slope of the Santa Lucia Range is where firefighters are currently battling the Timber Fire, which was threatening hundreds of structures as of Wednesday afternoon. Cal Fire officials say that weather conditions could be more challenging for firefighters in the afternoon and evening, with strong, erratic winds and unstable conditions.
The potential lightning strikes would also pose an immediate risk of igniting new wildfires across dry inland terrain and vegetation.
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While the shower and thunderstorm activity could conceivably drift northward toward portions of the southern Bay Area, the Weather Service said probability of storm development over the greater Bay Area remained under 10%. Most of the Bay Area would likely see increasing mid-to-high level cloud cover and lower temperatures.
Farther north, the main concern for the Bay Area on Wednesday was another day of elevated tides caused by the lunar alignment, unusually warm Pacific Ocean water, and El Niño conditions. The Weather Service issued a coastal flood advisory for both the Bay Area and Monterey Bay area, in effect until 2 a.m. on Thursday. Up to 1.4 feet of flooding above ground level is possible in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways, forecasters said.
The next several days will see a cooling and moistening trend in both the Bay Area and Central Coast; temperatures are expected to be well below seasonal averages. The deepening marine layers could also produce localized drizzle along the coastal and bayshore communities through Friday, the Weather Service said.
