Tropical Storm Kay was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone on Saturday as it weakened and pulled away from the northern Baja California Peninsula, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As Kay continues to weaken, heavy rainfall and flash flooding, especially over areas with sensitive soils, remain a threat for portions of southern California, southern Nevada and northwestern Arizona on Saturday as it moves further into the eastern Pacific over the weekend, meteorologist said. Eight million people, including in Las Vegas and Palm Springs, are currently under flood alerts as a result of the rainfall threat, which may bring 0.5 to 2 inches of rain this weekend. Gusty winds and lightning can also be expected.
Increased cloud cover and moisture from Kay, however, will bring relief from the record-breaking heat that targeted the West for the past two weeks, the National Weather Service said. Fire activity in California was also reduced due to moisture from post-cyclone Kay.
California’s Fairview Fire, which claimed two lives after breaking out southeast of Los Angeles on Monday, was contained by 40% as a result of Kay, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The 28,307-acre fire is expected to be fully contained by Monday.
There are also “red flag warnings” in place until 11 p.m. Saturday evening for many parts of the Northwest, including Seattle and Tacoma in Washington and Bend and Portland in Oregon. Around 9 million people are currently under extreme fire weather conditions.
According to a tweet from the National Weather Service field office in Portland, there’s thick smoke over northwest Oregon and parts of southwest Washington “largely from the Cedar Creek Fire.”
Oregon utilities company Pacific Power shut down power to approximately 12,000 customers on Friday to reduce risk of wildfire ignition, they said in a tweet. Overnight wind conditions “materialized and peaked as forecasted” and the agency is now in process of verifying that the system is safe.
“Once patrols are completed, we will begin the process of restoring service to customers,” the agency said in a news release on Saturday. “However, if repairs are needed, service restoration could last into the afternoon or evening.”
The agency said it will notify customers when power has been fully restored, and shared locations of “temporary community resource centers” where residents can seek shelter from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday.
Christine Rapp contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
