The PG&E Emergency Operations Center (EOC) has activated for a potential PSPS event on Monday and Tuesday. At present, eighteen counties are in the “elevated” scale due to the forecasted wind event starting late Sunday and affecting the Sacramento Valley and foothills through Tuesday.
According to PG&E’s EOC, “A weather system will drop into Nevada Sunday night through Tuesday bringing periods of gusty winds and dry conditions to the region Monday morning through Tuesday. Northerly winds will increase Sunday night into Monday morning for the northern Sacramento Valley and foothills, before spreading down the Sacramento Valley and San Joaquin Valley during the daytime hours of Monday. Expect sustained winds 15-30 mph, with peak gusts 35-50 mph across the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, surrounding foothills, and Bay Area hills on Monday. Relative humidity values will drop to 10-15% by Monday afternoon across most of the region. North to northeast winds will continue for the western Sacramento Valley, western San Joaquin Valley, and the Sierra through Tuesday afternoon.”
As of Friday afternoon, residents in the following counties may experience a PSPS:
- Butte
- Colusa
- Fresno
- Glenn
- Kern
- Lake
- Madera
- Napa
- Placer
- Plumas
- San Benito
- Shasta
- Solano
- Sonoma
- Stanislaus
- Tehama
- Yolo
- Yuba
Note that only a portion of a county may experience a PSPS event and this is only a preliminary map. Stay tuned for updates throughout the weekend and also pay close attention to the weather forecast. A Fire Weather Watch is already in effect and a High Wind Watch has just been issued.