CA thunderstorm outbreak

Well, folks, this is just about as interesting as summer patterns can get around here. A significant upper low off the coast of CA will continue to funnel ample mid and high level subtropical moisture into the region during the next 48 hours. Flow over SoCal will generally be S/SE, trending more easterly as one goes north. Elevated convection…above the marine layer…is likely to occur throughout the entire state. A potentially memorable lightning event could occur over parts of the state that rarely see thunderstorms, including the San Francisco Bay Area. Storms over mountain areas could bring heavy rains and there is a flash flood watch in effect for parts of the eastern Sierras. However, closer to the coast, thunderstorms will have less depth and will be forced to work with less moisture, so very little rainfall is expected with these storms. This threat of dry lightning will contribute greatly to fire weather concerns over the next few days, at a time when firefighting resources are already stretched to the limit. Could be a very interesting few  days. If anyone manages to snap any pictures of this impending activity, I will be happy to post them on Weather West…