Red Flag Warning Issued for Central California Coast Areas

Source: NOAA · Central California Coast

This alert is no longer in effect.

NOAA issued it on August 28, 2026, 6 days ago. Warnings of this kind stay in effect for hours to a few days, so this page is a historical record of what was issued, not a current warning. For conditions where you are right now, check weather.gov (US), weather.gc.ca (Canada), the Met Office (UK), or the Bureau of Meteorology (Australia).

Areazine synthesizes this NWS weather alert directly from NOAA's official public data feed. See our methodology for full source attribution and refresh cadence.

A Red Flag Warning remains in effect from 5 AM to 3 PM PDT Friday for multiple zones in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Salinas Valley, Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast due to lightning and gusty winds.

Read this weather record in 30 seconds

Record type
Red Flag Warning
Affected area
Central California Coast
Issued
August 28, 2026
Issuing authority
NWS San Francisco CA

Fire-weather notices describe conditions that can support rapid fire spread; they do not report that a fire is present. Check local emergency sources for any active incident.

Record status: historical. It was issued 6 days ago; use the issuing agency's live warning service for current conditions in Central California Coast.

Alert Details

Red Flag Warning issued by NWS San Francisco CA. The alert is effective from 5 AM to 3 PM PDT Friday, August 28, 2026.

Affected Areas

Santa Cruz Mountains; Southern Salinas Valley/Arroyo Seco and Lake San Antonio; Santa Lucia Mountains and Los Padres National Forest; Northern Salinas Valley/Hollister Valley and Carmel Valley; Northern Monterey Bay; Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast.

What You Should Do

Please advise responding agencies or fire crews in the field of this fire weather alert. Never leave burning debris or camp fires unattended; extinguish them completely. Avoid using equipment or machinery that could create a spark. Secure tow chains to avoid dragging and subsequent sparks. Never toss cigarette butts out of your vehicle's window. Familiarize yourself with your emergency plan.

Expected Conditions

Isolated thunderstorms with lightning strikes, little precipitation, and gusty erratic outflow winds of 40 to 50 mph.

Timeline

The warning is in effect from 5 AM to 3 PM PDT Friday. Impacts include increased risk for power outages, new fire ignitions from lightning, and rapid fire spread from erratic winds.

Original source: NOAA Official Notice ↗

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Nationwide notices with similar length or severity timing 8

Two Areazine-derived peer sets for this NWS weather alert: nearest notices by body length and by same severity near the same agency date. Peers come from other categories so they are not the same-feed Related list above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about this NWS weather alert.

What is this NWS weather alert about?
A Red Flag Warning remains in effect from 5 AM to 3 PM PDT Friday for multiple zones in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Salinas Valley, Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast due to lightning and gusty winds.
Which agency issued this alert?
This alert was issued by NOAA. The original notice is available at the source link at the bottom of this article.
How severe is this alert?
This alert is classified as "high" severity. Take precautions and monitor for updates.
What area is affected?
This alert affects Central California Coast. Check with NOAA for the most current geographic scope.
Where can I find more Weather Alerts updates?
Browse the full Weather Alerts feed on Areazine at areazine.com/weather/ for the latest updates from NOAA and other agencies.