Posted November 22, 2009, 11:29 AM.

Despite low predicted humidities in the teens for most of the inland valleys beginning Tuesday and lasting through Thanksgiving Day, red flag warnings have not yet been issued by the National Weather Service.

Offshore winds are not expected to be strong, although gusts could reach 20 mph or so. And the predicted temperatures are not predicted to be too warm, either, topping out in the lower 80's in some locations. The combination of these factors should help keep the fire danger down.

Normal dewpoints for this time of the year are in the upper 30's to lower 40's in the inland valleys. We consider dewpoints under 30°F or so to be dry; many areas are set to record dewpoints in the teens and 20's for the middle of the week.

The dewpoint is the the temperature at which relative humidity reaches 100% and condensation occurs. Cooler air holds less moisture than warmer air, so lower dewpoints indicate dry conditions, and higher dewpoints indicate moist conditions.