Thunderstorm risks in Bay Area, Tahoe

Monsoonal moisture making a splash in Southern California on Monday could bring a slight chance of lightning and rain to the Bay Area early in the week — and increase the risk of thunderstorms in the Tahoe area, where air quality is suffering from the massive Dixie Fire nearby, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather service reported that downtown Los Angeles received 0.09 inches of rain Monday morning — bringing the monthly total to the thirdwettest July since recordkeeping began in 1877. The wettest July in downtown L.A. occurred in 2015, with 0.38 inches of rain, according to the NWS.

The monsoonal activity was expected to shift gradually to the west and north. But weather service meteorologist Gerry Diaz said the chances of a thunderstorm making its way over the Bay Area were only slim.

With fire season off to an early and severe start in Northern California, officials keep a watchful eye on the potential for lightning, which sparked giant fire wildfire complexes in the Bay Area

and California last year.

In the Tahoe area, chances of thunderstorms were expected to increase throughout the week, most likely on Monday, Wednesday and FridaySaturday, according to the weather service. Smoke from the nearly 200,000acre Dixie Fire burning to the northwest in Plumas and Butte counties was expected to continue to blanket the region at least through Monday and possibly Tuesday.

Beginning Tuesday, the Bay Area will heat up. San Francisco and Oakland could see high temperatures in the 70s this week. Places farther inland like Livermore and Concord will see high temperatures in the 90s starting Tuesday.