San Diego County isn’t in the clear yet. High winds again are expected, with a fire weather watch set to take effect Monday.
The National Weather Service in San Diego warns that more strong gusty winds and low relative humidity will take hold by the afternoon, conditions that should continue through Wednesday afternoon.
Northeast and east winds of 20 to 30 mph are in the forecast with gusts up to 55 mph and humidity that could fall as low as 10 percent. Temperatures throughout the region are set to remain mild, though, ranging from the low to upper 60s.
Affected areas include local inland valleys and mountains, along with the Palomar and Descanso Ranger Districts in the Cleveland National Forest, and also Riverside County mountains.
San Diego County, according to NWS, is facing its driest season since 1963, with just .14 inch of rain recorded in the last 100 days. Just under a quarter-inch had fallen over the same period more than 60 years ago.
Another red-flag warning already is in effect for fire-weary Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where firefighters were struggling to gain ground on the Palisades and Eaton fires during the brief respite from the Santa Anas.
San Diego is now officially the driest start to the water year (since October 1) with only 0.14 inches so far putting it in first place #dry #climate #socal #cawx but in contrast far northern California is much above averages pic.twitter.com/MjDTXKUP9l
— NWS San Diego (@NWSSanDiego) January 10, 2025
The red-flag warning will extend to inland Orange County and mountains and valleys in San Bernardino County, including the San Bernardino National Forest at 6 p.m. Saturday.
The L.A. and Orange County alerts are set to continue until Wednesday, according to the NWS.
Red-flag warnings mean that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now or will shortly. A fire weather watch means that the conditions are in the forecast for the coming days.
Meanwhile, the North County Fire Protection District alerted wary residents Saturday that “drift smoke” seen in the area is from the ongoing wildland fires, but poses “no threat to our community.”
