Red flag warning extended through 10 p.m.

After a day of mostly good news, a bit of concern this afternoon as the National Weather Service extends Red Flag warnings for the mountains and valley areas through 10 p.m. Sunday. The warnings expired for most coastal areas at 4 p.m. The weather service says winds are weakening but still strong. Highlights from the advisory:

OFFSHORE FLOW IS STARTING TO WEAKEN ACROSS THE AREA. HOWEVER...LOCAL NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE STILL POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS.

Full advisory after the jump.

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA ...RED FLAG WARNING EXTENDED UNTIL 10 PM PST THIS EVENING FOR THE MOUNTAINS AND VALLEYS OF VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTIES DUE TO GUSTY NORTHEAST WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITIES... ...RED FLAG WARNING ALLOWED TO EXPIRE FOR THE VENTURA AND LOS ANGELES COUNTY COAST AT 4 PM... .OFFSHORE FLOW IS STARTING TO WEAKEN ACROSS THE AREA. HOWEVER...LOCAL NORTHEAST WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH ARE STILL POSSIBLE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS. AS A RESULT...THE RED FLAG WARNING HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 10 PM THIS EVENING FOR THE VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS. ALONG THE COAST...A WEAK SEA BREEZE HAS STARTED TO DEVELOP...CAUSING THE SANTA ANA WINDS TO WEAKEN AND SHIFT TO THE WEST. LOCALLY GUSTY EASTERLY WINDS ACROSS THE INLAND PORTION OF THE COASTAL PLAIN WILL WEAKEN AND SHIFT TO THE WEST BY THIS EVENING. FOR THIS REASON THE RED FLAG WARNINGS THERE WILL BE ALLOWED TO EXPIRE AT 4 PM TODAY. WHILE THE OFFSHORE WINDS WILL DIMINISH TONIGHT INTO MONDAY...A HOT AND DRY AIR MASS WILL LINGER...WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR AT LEAST A FEW HOURS OF SINGLE DIGIT HUMIDITIES IN SOME LOCATIONS. WITH LESS WIND EXPECTED AND FEWER HOURS OF SINGLE DIGIT HUMIDITIES...IT IS LIKELY THAT RED FLAG CRITERIA WILL NOT BE MET IN MOST AREAS SINCE 10 HOURS OF CONTINUOUS HUMIDITIES AT OR BELOW 10 PERCENT ARE REQUIRED. FOR THIS REASON RED FLAG WARNINGS ARE NOT ANTICIPATED BEYOND THIS EVENING. HOWEVER...IT SHOULD BE EMPHASIZED THAT CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN EXTREMELY DRY WITH LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS...ESPECIALLY BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS. FIRE AGENCIES AND PERSONNEL SHOULD REMAIN ON HIGH ALERT FOR THE NEXT 48 TO 72 HOURS.

--Shelby Grad