The threat of active weather is diminishing and our temperatures are heating up in your Friday forecast. Get ready for dangerous heat on the way to northern California over the next several days as high pressure builds into the Pacific Northwest. The threat of active weather is diminishing Friday as the low pressure that brought the unstable conditions to our region is breaking down and shifting east. High pressure will dominate the forecast across the entire West Coast over the next several days. The active weather from Thursday afternoon and night has tapered off this morning, and we have mostly clear conditions overhead for the start of your Friday. Sunny skies are expected across almost all of our region, but there will still be a slight threat of thunderstorms in the Sierra up to Plumas County today. Temperatures are starting out in the 60's to 70's in the valley, 50's to 60's in the foothills, and in the 40's to 50's in our mountain zones Friday morning. We'll have mostly light winds today. Valley areas will see winds up to 10mph out of the south, while foothill and mountain areas start to have northwest winds to 10mph this afternoon. Humidity will dip into the 15 to 25 percent range for most of us this afternoon. High temperatures are projected to top out in the upper 90's to around 106 degrees in the valley, 80's to mid 90's in the foothills and Sierra, and 90's in the Northern Mountains this afternoon. The hot and dry conditions paired with the lighter winds and lack of thunderstorms will allow our fire danger to dip into the moderate range for most of us today.
High pressure will continue to build into the Pacific Northwest, and it's influence will spread across the West Coast through this weekend. This will result in very hot and dry conditions for our region this weekend through at least the middle of next week. An Excessive Heat Warning is set to go into effect for the valley and foothills from noon on Saturday through 10pm Wednesday. Excessive Heat Warnings will be in effect in Trinity, Siskiyou, and Modoc Counties from Saturday through Tuesday night. Temperatures in the 107 to 114 degree range will be possible in the valley this weekend, with overnight low temperatures only dipping into the upper 60's to upper 70's in the overnight hours. Foothill areas will start out in the 70's and end up in the 90's to triple digits through this weekend, while mountain areas will start out in the 50's to 60's and end up in the 90's to triple digits this weekend. The heat will be the biggest risk factor in our extended forecast, but the very hot and dry conditions will also keep our fire danger elevated. The biggest threat for fire starts will be from people, so it's very important to stay responsible. Make sure you're not mowing your lawn during the very dry afternoon hours, and do your best to keep from doing anything that could spark a fire. You'll also want to make sure you're dressing for the heat, staying hydrated, and avoiding outdoor activities during the peak heat of the days in the afternoon hours.
The latest models have temperatures only a few degrees cooler than this weekend as we head into the start to middle of next week, but they will still be well above average. Triple digit high temperatures are expected to continue for the valley through your 4th of July Weekend, while foothill and mountain areas have high temperatures rangeing from the 90's to lower triple digits. Conditions will also stay very dry through your entire extended forecast. This is all driven by high pressure dominating the entire West Coast forecast for the foreseeable future.
