Fire Weather Watch in Effect: Critical Fire Conditions

FIRE WEATHER PLANNING FORECAST FOR SOUTHWESTERN CALIFORNIA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA 930 AM PDT FRI SEP 24 2010 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCHES IN EFFECT SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS AND VERY LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES... .DISCUSSION...UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD OVER THE AREA THIS WEEKEND...BRINGING HOT AND DRY CONDITIONS TO THE AREA. AFTERNOON TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE VERY HOT...PEAKING ON MONDAY WITH MANY INLAND AREAS EXCEEDING 100 DEGREES. NEAR THE SURFACE...OFFSHORE FLOW IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP WHICH WILL HELP DROP AFTERNOON RELATIVE HUMIDITY INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS ACROSS INLAND AREAS. OVERNIGHT RECOVERIES AWAY FROM THE COAST WILL BE POOR. AS FOR WINDS...SOME GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEKEND WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS LIKELY ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THROUGH MONDAY...THE COMBINATION OF VERY HOT TEMPERATURES...EXTENDED PERIODS OF LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND SOME GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS MAY PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES SATURDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING. THEREFORE...A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THESE AREAS.