545 Lightning Strikes Recorded Overnight in California
Following a historic week of lightning-caused wildfires across California, the collective sentiment of residents bracing for another round of thunderstorms across the state was fear and anxiety. Thankfully, the lightning storm wasn’t nearly as violent as the previous ones, but it did come with its share of strikes – 545 to be exact.
Cloud to cloud lightning in Fairfield. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/bf6xdIxK8r
— Eric Myers (@EricMyers31) August 24, 2020
The Bureau of Land Management released the numbers of lightning strikes that occurred overnight, with much of the activity occurring in the Sierra Nevada. The 545 lightning strikes were far fewer than the more than 12,000 that occurred last week. Here is a map of the strikes:
The cluster lightning strikes in the area of Lake Tahoe and Yosemite have not yet proven to have started wildfires, although small fires deep in the wilderness could still be found.
According to meteorologists, we’re not out of the woods quite yet. More dry thunderstorms are still expected throughout the day on Monday:
Also: we still aren't totally out of the woods in NorCal. Dry thunderstorms are still expected today, mainly in northern 1/3 of state but possibly clipping North Bay. These could yet spark new fires. But all in all, a better than expected outcome. #CAwx #CAfire (3/3) pic.twitter.com/sz1VIBXoJr
— Daniel Swain (@Weather_West) August 24, 2020
A Red Flag Fire warning remains in effect throughout Northern California as firefighters continue to battle the historic flames throughout the area. While containment continues to grow on all fires, fears of heat, dry conditions, wind and more lightning strikes has been high on everyone’s mind.
