LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Lake County and much of Northern California have been placed under a red flag warning due to an incoming weather system expect to bring heavy winds.

The National Weather Service issued the warning for portions of interior Northern California from 8 a.m. Wednesday to 4 p.m. Thursday.

The agency said a red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly.

Such warnings are issued in response to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and warm temperatures that can contribute to extreme fire behavior.

The National Weather Service said a weather system digging into the Great Basin region will create gusty north to east winds over portions of interior Northern California Wednesday and Thursday.

Conditions are forecast to include low daytime and nighttime humidity.

The impacted areas include the northern Coastal Range and foothills, the Sacramento Valley, portions of the northern San Joaquin Valley, and the Northern Sierra Nevada and foothills below 7,000 feet.

North to northeast winds of 15 to 30 miles per hour with gusts of 35 to 45 miles per hour are forecast, with the potential for higher wind speeds in canyons and on exposed ridges.

In Lake County through the weekend, daytime temperatures are forecast to be into the mid 80s, with nighttime temperatures dropping into the high 40s and low 50s.

In the lower elevations, winds are expected to peak on Wednesday night in the high 20s, with wind speeds up to 20 miles per hour on Thursday, according to the local forecast.

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