ELEVATED FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS FOR PORTIONS OF INTERIOR MONTEREY COUNTY WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY WITH DRY AND GUSTY OFFSHORE WINDS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP. .Gusty north-northeast winds are expected to develop Wednesday and last into Thursday across interior portions of Monterey county, including the Santa Lucia, Los Padres National Forest, and the southern Salinas Valley. A dry airmass already in place will be subject to these gusty offshore winds of 20-30 mph, promoting further drying with daytime minimum humidity as low as 10%. Poor overnight recovery will also be a factor, with maximum RH in the 15-30% range each Wednesday and Thursday mornings. The strongest winds are expected to be Wednesday evening overnight into Thursday morning. The National Weather Service in San Francisco has issued a Fire Weather Watch for gusty offshore winds and low relative humidity, which is in effect from Wednesday morning through Thursday evening. * AFFECTED AREA. Fire Weather Zone 516 Southern Salinas Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San Antonio and Fire Weather Zone 517 Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest. * TIMING. 6 AM Wednesday until 8 PM Thursday. * WINDS. North 10 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY. As low as 10 percent. * TEMPERATURES. Up to 106. * LIGHTNING. None. * IMPACTS. The combination of gusty winds and low humidity can cause fire to rapidly grow in size and intensity. Outdoor burning is not recommended.
