The solar set on summer season unofficially Monday night time, and the response was an in a single day gentle present early Tuesday from hundreds of lightning strikes that crammed the sky from from the Bay Space to the Central Valley.
The lightning got here from more and more unstable air and sparked a “number of fires,” the Nationwide Climate Service stated. Based on Cal Hearth, none of these had grown into a serious wildfire by 8 a.m. Tuesday.
“Generally speaking, it’s tapering off,” NWS meteorologist Roger Gass stated of the lightning early Tuesday. “But we can’t rule out some isolated thunderstorms later Tuesday around the East Bay.”
By 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, the climate service had recorded about 4,800 lightning strikes from Sacramento to San Luis Obispo, together with 1,300 that touched the bottom.
The climate service stated an unknown quantity of fires began in a single day in southeast Monterey County and in southwestern Fresno County early Tuesday. It was not recognized instantly how massive any of these fires have been, however Cal Hearth had not reported any new ones on its checklist of California’s main ones.
Of concern is the Garnet Hearth in Fresno County, which in line with Cal Hearth began Aug. 24 and has burned 26,982 acres. That blaze was 12% contained, and forecasters are involved that lightning strikes Tuesday might create extra fires inside that one.
The lightning got here with low rumblings of thunder and in some areas small bits of rain that have been too small to measure, Gass stated. It developed rapidly as monsoonal moisture from the southern a part of the Pacific Ocean and the southwestern desert shifted course and moved north, he stated.
“There already was a trough of low pressure in the upper part of the atmosphere,” Gass stated. “Then you had the monsoonal moisture that worked its way into our area.”
These two components created an imbalance of excessive and low strain that coated the Central Valley and Monterey County and prolonged to areas close to Harmony and San Jose, Gass stated. That imbalance led to instability that brings with it thunder and lightning.
The electrical present is anticipated to be completed by the point Tuesday turns into Wednesday, although Gass stated the timeline for the way lengthy it sticks round is unclear.
“As the trough moves inland, it’ll shift the high pressure to the east,” Gass stated. “Then, we’ll see a cooling trend the rest of the week.”
The excessive temperatures may attain 90 within the hottest spots Tuesday, with the humidity operating near 40%, in line with the climate service. By the top of the work week, temperatures possible gained’t get a lot previous 80 levels within the hottest spots, although the humidity is anticipated to climb above 50%.
Temperatures Monday reached 100 levels in some East Bay spots and 90 levels in San Jose, capping a weekend that proved hotter than forecasters initially anticipated. That warmth got here with greater than a touch of humidity Monday due to the monsoonal air.
Initially Printed: September 2, 2025 at 8:55 AM PDT
