Rain is expected in Northern California this weekend. Here’s when and what it means for fires
Rain and cooler temperatures are in Northern California’s forecast — two ingredients that could help curb the state’s biggest wildfire of the year.
The Mosquito Fire, burning in Placer and El Dorado counties, recently surpassed Siskiyou County’s McKinney Fire as the largest of 2022, scorching more than 64,000 acres as of Thursday morning. The blaze will soon be met with rain between Saturday and Tuesday.
“You can’t really say anything is a season ender until we’re in the depths of winter,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Emily Heller.
Meaning, the upcoming rain won’t be the thing to end wildfire season.
“Fuels are still critically dry, near record levels,” National Weather Service wrote on its Twitter page. “And a period of warmer, drier weather will likely follow the rain.”
Temperatures in Foresthill, a community close to the blaze in Placer County, are forecast to dance between highs in the mid-70s and mid-60s throughout the rest of the week into early next week. There’s a chance of rain Saturday night with showers pushing in Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Monday and Tuesday will bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Before the rain comes in, residents should remain cautious of smoke and haze Thursday and Friday.
While the rain will be helpful for wildfire activity, Heller said forecasters are only expecting up to an inch of rain to fall within the three-day period across Northern California including areas in Placer, El Dorado and Sacramento counties.
An updated forecast Friday said the area can expect one to two inches.
Residents should expect Saturday’s gusty winds to pick up smoke until the rain comes in later in the night.
“We are not expecting heavy rain by any means,” Heller said. “And there’s going to be periods where we’ll probably not going to see rain and its a bit more showery.”
In Sacramento, rain is forecast to be “pretty consistent” from Sunday into at least Monday morning with a chance of showers into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
A similar forecast is expected in El Dorado Hills with mostly sunny skies and winds leading into the weekend until rain comes Saturday night into Tuesday night.
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 10:39 AM with the headline "Rain is expected in Northern California this weekend. Here’s when and what it means for fires."