Bone-Dry Weather Conditions Continue Grip On San Francisco Bay Area; Lake, Napa Counties In Extreme Drought
NAPA (CBS SF) -- With much of Napa and Lake counties falling into extreme drought conditions, forecasters warned Saturday that little if any precipitation was expected until mid-December at the earliest.
The U.S. Drought Monitor map released late this week revealed that major portions of Napa, Lake and Solano counties have dropped into the extreme drought state.
The reminder of the San Francisco Bay Area has fallen into the severe drought status.
"Long range model trends are looking mainly dry for the next 7-10 days," the National Weather Service office in Monterey tweeted. "This week's Drought Monitor shows much of the West under drought conditions. Since January 1st SFO has reported 4.47 inches of rain (over 11 months) which is 12.58 inches below normal."
The continuing dry conditions have further heighten the wildfire danger.
With gusty offshore expected to blow through the region starting Monday, there may be in increase threat of wildfires. However, forecasters said ideal wildfire conditions would not develop.
"That`s not to say there won`t be any fire weather concerns, but at least the timing of gusty winds and driest conditions won`t coincide to exacerbate any fire starts," NWS forecasters said.
There has been a lingering threat of a return to severe drought conditions since last February -- when San Francisco did not receive any rain. It was the first rain-less February since 1864.
The extreme dry conditions were a major factor in Northern California's historic wildfire season where the LNU Complex Fire, SCU Complex Fire, CZU Complex and Glass Fire combined to burn nearly 1 million acres.
