Extreme fire weather conditions were forecast for Oct 9 and 10 as northern California was caught between a ridge over the eastern Pacific and a trough over the Great Basin. This caused the pressure gradients to tighten over the county warning area, which lead to strong northerly and easterly winds.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS STO wrote it up.
Extreme fire weather conditions were forecast for Oct 9 and 10 as northern California was caught between a ridge over the eastern Pacific and a trough over the Great Basin. This caused the pressure gradients to tighten over the county warning area, which lead to strong northerly and easterly winds. With these winds forecast, dry conditions in place, and fuels being primed a Red Flag Warning was issued for most of interior northern California. Fortunately no major wildfires resulted from this but a controlled burn got out of control and utility power lines did suffer from some wind damage.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Sacramento, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 9, 2:08 AM PST, 3 hours 11 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Sacramento CA 308 AM PDT Wed Oct 9 2019 .SYNOPSIS... Much cooler today and Thursday with gusty dry, northerly winds. Temperatures moderate to around average by the end of the week. && .DISCUSSION... Satellite imagery shows clear skies across the region early this morning as the trough settles in and high clouds associated with the upper level front have shifted well to the south of the area. The north-south pressure gradient has been steadily increasing since Tuesday afternoon and the MFR-SAC gradient is now up to 12.5 mbs. The RDD-SAC gradient has increased to 2.5 mbs in the past couple of hours, and we're now beginning to see some northerly wind gusts in the 15-30 mph range across the northern Sacramento Valley and surrounding foothills (KDAX VWP now indicating north winds up to 35 kts at 2k ft). Winds will increase this morning as mixing develops and subsidence increases across NorCal as the trough shifts east into the Great Basin (water vapor imagery is already showing a large area of darkening off the Oregon coast dropping southward). HRRR still showing a big increase in wind across the Sacramento Valley in the 0800-1000 PDT time range as sustained winds increase to 20-30 mph with gusts of 40-50 mph. Needless to say, combined with low humidities (daytime minimums in the single digits and teens with only minor nighttime recovery), fire danger will be critical to extreme. Winds will increase later this afternoon, and especially tonight, in the northern Sierra and foothills as the easterly pressure gradient increases (RNO-SAC forecast to reach 12 mbs tonight). Winds will slacken a bit along the eastern edge of the Sacramento Valley, but will likely increase along the western edge of the valley and across the higher elevations of Lake County. If comparing meteorological setups, this has a lot in common with the October 2017 event which sparked the north Bay Area wildfires. Current fuels are running near seasonal values across the Valley while being drier farther west toward the Coastal Range and foothills. Remember to have a plan if a fire starts near you. Pressure gradients forecast to relax considerably by midday Thursday, but enough easterly gradient lingers to continue locally breezy east winds in the northern Sierra into early Friday. Lighter winds and milder temperatures expected to dominate the weather at the end of the week. && .EXTENDED DISCUSSION (Sunday THROUGH Wednesday)... Weak upper trough moves through NorCal Sunday with little associated moisture and affect on our weather. EPAC upper ridging follows wave for Monday into Tuesday with daytime max temperatures near to slightly below normal. Frontal system may approach the area towards the middle of next week with some precipitation possible over the Coastal Range and northern portions of the CWA. && .AVIATION... VFR conds ovr Intr NorCal nxt 24 hrs. In Cntrl Vly, areas of Nly sfc wnd sust up to 30 kts tda with gsts up to 44 kts poss, dcrsg aft 00z to sust sfc wnd up to 22 kts with lcl gsts up to 30 kts ovngt. Lcl LLWS poss til 18z with AWW at KRDD btwn 16z-00z tda. Ovr fthls/mtns N to E lcl sfc wnd sust up to 25 kts with lcl gsts to 35 kts, incrsg tngt to lcl sust up to 30 kts with lcl gsts to 45 kts. && .STO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 5 PM PDT Thursday for Carquinez Strait and Delta-Central Sacramento Valley in Glenn, Colusa, Yuba, Northern Sutter, and Butte County Below 1000 Ft-Eastern Mendocino NF-Eastern Portion of Shasta/Trinity NF-Lake County Portion of Lake-Napa-Sonoma Unit-Northern Motherlode From 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes portions of Nevada-Yuba-Placer-Amador and ElDorado Units-Northern Sacramento Valley to Southern Tehama County Line Below 1000 Ft-Northern San Joaquin Valley in San Joaquin and Stanislaus Counties Below 1000 ft-Northern Sierra Foothills from 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes portions of Shasta- Trinity and Butte Units-Northern Sierra Including Lassen NP and Plumas and Lassen NF/S West of the Sierra Crest (West of Evans Peak-Grizzly Peak-Beckworth Peak)-Northern Sierra Including the Tahoe and ElDorado NF/S West of the Sierra Crest-Southeast Edge Shasta-Trinity NF and Western Portions of Tehama-Glenn Unit- Southern Motherlode From 1000 to 3000 Ft. Includes portions of Calaveras-Tuolumne Unit-Southern Sacramento Valley in Yolo- Sacramento Far Western Placer, southern Sutter and Solano County Below 1000 Ft-Stanislaus NF West of the Sierra Crest. Wind Advisory until noon PDT Thursday for Carquinez Strait and Delta-Central Sacramento Valley-Clear Lake/Southern Lake County- Mountains Southwestern Shasta County to Northern Lake County- Northeast Foothills/Sacramento Valley-Northern Sacramento Valley- Shasta Lake Area / Northern Shasta County-Southern Sacramento Valley-West Slope Northern Sierra Nevada-Western Plumas County/Lassen Park. &&
5 strong wind, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Redding Airport reported a non-thunderstorm related wind gust up to 47 mph. Within Shasta County, a utility company reported tree and wind related damage to power lines near Redding and Cottonwood.
The mesonet station, Sac NWR, near Delevan reported a non-thunderstorm related wind gust up to 77 mph. Within Glenn County, a utility company reported tree and wind related damage to power lines near Artois.
The mesonet station, Bald Mountain, near Chiquita reported a non-thunderstorm related wind gust up to 47 mph. Within El Dorado County, a utility company reported tree and wind related damage to power lines near Georgetown.
The mesonet station, Knoxville Creek, near Hidden Valley Lake reported a non-thunderstorm related wind gust up to 51 mph. Within Lake County, a utility company reported tree and wind related damage to power lines near Kelseyville.
The mesonet station near Leesville reported a non-thunderstorm related wind gust up to 47 mph. Within Colusa County, a utility company reported tree and wind related damage to power lines near Stonyford.
On October 10 a prescribed burn, which was started on September 30, was declared a wild fire incident. Extreme fire weather conditions were forecast which led to the growth of the prescribed burn. In total 3435 acres were burned across the month of October. The Forest Service noted that 7 injuries or illnesses happened on this fire.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in California in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in California, October 2019
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 863130, 863128, 863126, 863129, 863125, 863131.