California on Fire Watch This Weekend With Dry Lightning Over Sierra Nevada

Dry lightning is in the California forecast this weekend, especially for the Sierra Nevada, elevating the risk of fires touching off that could quickly become a bigger conflagration.

The National Weather Service in Sacramento forecasts a 15%–35% chance of thunderstorms over the Sierra on Saturday afternoon and evening and a 10%–30% chance on Sunday.

The thunderstorms could come at a bad time, just as a long-running heat wave that baked the state finally eases and vegetation is totally dried out.

People out in the mountains this weekend should be careful, the weather service warned.

“Any storms that develop could be capable of gusty winds and possible fire starts from lightning strikes,” their latest forecast discussion said.

Dead brush on the ground across Northern California is critically flammable after two weeks of record-shattering heat, with temperatures tacking far north of 110 degrees in many cities from Redding to Palm Springs and beyond.

The latest National Interagency Fire Center forecast notes “high confidence in isolated to widely scattered, mostly dry T-storms” moving north across the Sierra to the north and far east side on Saturday and Sunday.

They also note a chance of “isolated dry lightning” over the East Bay and Santa Cruz Mountains.