California is facing a new round of offshore winds this week and after a dry January, there could be “fire weather” concerns.
A high wind watch was set to go into effect in the San Francisco Bay region late Monday and persist into Thursday morning, potentially becoming similar to the Jan. 21-22 wind event, the National Weather Service said.
North Bay hills potentially could be hit by gusts topping 70 mph, forecasters said.
Forecasters urged residents to be ready for potential power outages, downed trees and dangerous driving conditions.
Fuels in the area have also become drier since the January event “so will need to monitor how this wind event evolves in future model runs as fire weather concerns may come into play," forecasters said.
Elsewhere, wind advisories will be in effect Tuesday and Wednesday from the northern Sacramento Valley south to the northern San Joaquin Valley.
Santa Ana winds will develop in Southern California on Wednesday and offshore flow will continue into the weekend, according to the forecast.
Winds could increase on Sunday, but current modeling indicates “a substantial wind event is on tap for Monday,” it said.
Southern California's dry conditions are expected to persist into at least the middle of February.
