California fires weather forecast: Fire risk remains critical amid strong gusty wind
Southern California remains in critical fire danger in the coming days, as red flag warnings continue amid the dry and windy conditions that are fuelling deadly wildfires in the Los Angeles area.
More than 8 million people are in the critical fire risk zone. The fire risk will remain at a critical into Monday and likely stay the same into Tuesday and Wednesday as well, with no major relief in sight.
On Saturday night and into Sunday morning, winds have been in the 35-55 mph range, with some gusts reaching as high as 70 mph in the mountains surrounding Los Angeles.
A red flag warning remains in effect for much of southern California through Wednesday, with humidity as low as 10% and gusty Santa Ana winds up to 70 mph.
Los Angeles is tied for the driest six month period between July and January on record. With only 0.16 inches within that timeframe it is tied with 1962-63.
The average temperature in that time period has been 4.2 degrees warmer this year than it was in 1962/63. This means the ground is likely much drier here in 2024/25 than the last time there was this little rain in 1962/63.
Last week, the National Weather Service issued a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" red flag warning for catastrophic and life-threatening winds up to 100 mph.
This is the strongest warning the National Weather Service can issue and it is rare to see this type of alert.
ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab contributed to this report.
