Wildfires continued to burn through Southern California today after burning up nearly 27,000 acres statewide, claiming two lives and forcing thousands of people to flee their homes.The worst of the three major blazes is a heavy brush fire speeding along the steep, dry terrain at Browns Canyon, about 30 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The Sesnon fire, which started Monday, nearly doubled overnight to 10,000 acres, forcing the evacuations of more than 2,000 homes.
Firefighters seem to be gaining on the second San Fernando Valley area fire. The Marek fire in Little Tujunga and Kagal canyons was 70 percent contained after charring nearly 5,000 acres and 44 buildings and driving 1,800 people from their homes.
Along with heat and low humidity, the sporadic Santa Ana winds -- blowing for the first time this fall -- have fueled the fires, gusting at times up to 60 mph. The winds let up a little today, but we expect that the winds will pick up again and tomorrow will be another rough day.
In other news…Omar is strengthening and pounding Columbia, Northern Venezuela, Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Omar is beginning to form an eyewall, and could be a hurricane by morning. The storm is expected to turn northeastward tonight as an upper-level trough of low pressure digs far enough south to pull the storm towards the Virgin Islands and northern Lesser Antilles Islands.
Conditions are favorable for TD 16 to intensify into a tropical storm. The system is expected to track very coast to the coast of Honduras, and this proximity to land should limit intensification potential. A west-southwesterly motion into the northern coast of Honduras is not expected, since the latest set of model runs keeps TD 16 just offshore. However, it would not take much of a deviation in track for TD 16 to make landfall in northern Honduras.
Tropical Depression Nana has been torn apart by wind shear of 30-40 knots. Regeneration is unlikely due to the continued high wind shear expected along its path. The small area of disturbed weather south-southeast of Nana has also been disrupted by high wind shear, although latest satellite loops show a small amount of heavy thunderstorm activity still clinging to the east side. The shear should prevent either system from redeveloping.
As for here at home in KHAS Land, tonight is rain again, mostly central and east while clear in the west with lows in the 40’s to the east, possibly 35 degrees overnight in central Nebraska.
Brrrr!
Wednesday I am going to call for a partly cloudy and not too cheerful morning, but I expect the sun will come out in the afternoon with highs in the mid-50’s. We’ll see temps back down in the 30’s overnight again with some chance of rain on Thursday to the north and east, but Friday may be a good sunny day to mow that lawn one last time with highs in the 60’s.
