Fire weather concerns return as Red Flag Warning activated for Northern California

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A new round of fire concerns comes to Northern California Thursday night through Friday.

A Red Flag Warning has been issued and begins at 5 p.m. Thursday, lasting until 2 p.m. Friday.

Moisture streams in during the day and by the late afternoon Thursday, we should see some thunderstorms develop. Some of these thunderstorms will have a little rain, but likely not enough to minimize the risk of lighting and new fire starts.

Dry lightning has a long history of starting fires in California. Many of 2020's complex fires were started by a large series of lightning storms in the Coastal Range and Sierra.

Lightning can ignite multiple fires in remote terrain at the same time. Outbreaks can swamp resources quickly, especially if wind is part of the forecast. Wind will pick up during the thunderstorms, as well as during the day. This may complicate firefighting if new fires start and more activity emerges for existing fires.

READ MORE FROM ABC10: 

• Sacramento Weather Forecast
• Statewide Flex Alert urging power conservation extended through Thursday
• Yes, rare extreme weather events are happening more frequently
• Scorched Earth: California's growing wildfire crisis
• UN: Weather disasters soar in numbers, cost, but deaths fall

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