Feel that Missouri/Kansas/Oklahoma/Arkansas/Missouri..etc,etc,etc., air today? The dew points are up, a closed low pressure system is off the coast and sub-tropical moisture is streaming north. That can mean one thing, especially this time of year. Any guess? Give the man a balloon! Thunderstorms with lightning. Yes sir. Said dew points are already in to the mid and upper 50’s and likely will climb higher as the day progresses.
For the that and other reasons, the National Weather Service has posted a red flag fire weather warning starting this evening (Sunday) for dry lightning in the Bay Area. Wildland fuels are at critically dry levels now and lightning could make everything a lot worse around the Redwood Empire. Even in the extended, possibly through Wednesday, rain mixed with the lightning may not have much of an effect.
Yesterday (Saturday) at the Wings over Wine Country Air Show in Santa Rosa, a flare from an airplane started several fires that burned nearly 70 acres. Never seen that before in my dozen plus years of covering the event. Even a Cal Fire air tanker and helicopter were used to help fight the fires, much to the delight of those attending the event.
-Stay tuned for more.
- Cal Fire used an air tanker to help control a large fire north of the airport, Saturday August 18, 2013 started by an airplane flyby during Wings Over Wine Country at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
- Brush fires erupted Saturday August 18, 2013 during Wings Over Wine Country at the Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport in Santa Rosa. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2013
-Kent Porter
