A Fire Weather Watch will be in effect for the Santa Barbara County South Coast and mountain areas Friday night through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
North to northeast winds between 15-30 mph are forecast, with possible gusts to 50 mph.
Relative humidity is expected as low as 8% to 15%, with poor overnight recoveries.
The weather service noted that if fire ignition occurs, conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior, which would threaten property and life.
“A fire weather watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur,” according to the NWS alert. “Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.”
As of about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Southern California Edison hasn’t issued advisories for a power shutoff during the fire weather watch in areas of Santa Barbara County.
SCE is considering shutting off power in portions of Ventura County beginning Thursday through over the weekend to reduce the risk of sparking wildfire, according to the company’s website.
Click here for updates from SCE.
Santa Barbara County has 33% of its countywide normal-to-date rainfall, according to the county Flood Control District.
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor map, released Jan. 7, shows all of Santa Barbara County is experiencing “moderate drought.” The county is considered in the second of five increasingly dire levels in the drought-monitor program.
Sunny skies are forecast for Thursday through Sunday, with daytime highs reaching into the 70s to around 80 degrees.
The forecast for Thursday through the weekend is calling for overnight lows in the mid-40s to mid-50s.
Overnight temperatures ranging from the high-50s to the mid-60s in the foothills are expected on Thursday night, and up to around 60 degrees on Friday night.
Temperatures are expected to gradually cool slightly on Monday along the South Coast.
» Click here for the latest forecast from the National Weather Service.
» Click here for the latest Santa Barbara area forecast from the National Weather Service.
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— Noozhawk staff writer Brooke Holland can be reached at bholland@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.