Fire and Ice And Tropics And Danger

Unfortunately, scenes like this are likely in California over
the next few days as the wildfire danger becomes
extreme again across much of the state

The next few days are going to be pretty nasty in the weather department for the nation as a whole, with some big dangers from wildfires, a winter storm, flooding, and a possible hurricane.  

Luckily for us Vermonters, it looks like we'll be mostly sitting on the sidelines for this one. 

Let's go through the hazards:

WILDFIRES

This is probably going to be the worst of the lot, especially in California, where weather conditions are lining up perfectly for extreme fire storms.

Winds from the north and northeast will pick up dramatically in central and northern California, gusting to 60 or 70 mph or more in some spots. Most of California north of Sacramento is under the gun later today, through tonight and Monday. 

The humidity is also expected to drop to the floor, basically.

Often in these scenarios, the high winds don't make it all the way to the coast, concentrating the fires a little inland in California. This time, the high winds will extend all the way to the beaches, putting the San Francisco Bay area in particular peril this time.

Probably the most famous example of such a wildfire/wind event was the Oakland Hills wildfire of October, 1991. That fire killed 25 people and destroyed thousands of homes, so you can understand the danger the area faces today.

To get an idea how horrifying this situation can get, check out the video at the bottom of this post of the 1991 Oakland Hills fire. The first few minutes of the video in particular is so awful it had my heart racing in fear. 

This is the highest risk California has seen this year for fires, and 2020 has already been an extreme year for devastating wildfires.

Things are so dangerous that Pacific Gas and Electric plans to cut power to 500,000 customers ahead of the wind. If the electricity is out in high risk areas, falling power lines in high winds won't be live. That means those dead wires won't be able to start fires.

In some of highest risk areas, where evacuation routes can quickly get jammed, local authorities are suggesting people leave now, before any fires even start.  Some of these high risk areas include the Berkeley Hills near San Francisco. 

Everybody else in the high risk fire zone has been told to have a full tank a gas in the car, and essential possessions like medication, pandemic protection, insurance papers and other materials stacked by the door, ready to grab in an instant if evacuation warning sound.

Fire trucks are already parked in some high risk zones, too.  This must be terrifying for the people who live in these areas.

The extreme risk of fire will spread to southern California on Monday. 

In Colorado, a winter storm swept into the worst fire zones last night, which will help tamp down the blazes. Of course, the winter weather is causing its own problems

SNOW AND COLD

The winter storm that is finally suppressing Colorado's wildfires (at least for now) is an awfully widespread affair for October. 

Places like Spokane, Washington, and several cities from Montana to Minnesota have had their largest October snowstorms on record or their snowiest October on record. And it's still snowing. 

Winter storm warnings and advisories extend as far south as the northern tip of Texas.  The storm is concentrated in the High Plains of Colorado, Wyoming, Nebraska and South Dakota, and in parts of the eastern Rockies. 

The storm is accompanied by record early season cold. Temperatures a few degrees either side of zero extend through the northern and central Rockies, the Dakotas and parts of Minnesota.

Luckily, it looks like this bout of winter won't last until spring or something ridiculous like that. Temperatures in the winter storm and cold region should get up into the 40s and 50s later this week, which is normal in these areas for this time of year. 

TROPICAL STORM ZETA

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Zeta has formed in the western Caribbean Sea and is expected to become yet another United States Gulf Coast threat later this week.  Though the forecast path and strength of this storm is iffy, there's a good chance a strong tropical storm or  hurricane could hit the central Gulf Coast midweek.

Once inland, Zeta will meet up with the storm causing the winter out west to dump heavy rain in parts of the South and Mid-Atlantic states. Flooding is a good bet during this week. 

At this point it doesn't look like moisture from Zeta will make it far enough north to affect Vermont. But in the off chance it does, it could be cold enough to snow, not rain in parts of Vermont at the end of the week. Stay tuned! 

Here's that terrifying video of the Oakland Hills fire in 1991 I told you about: