Santa Ana winds to gust across Southern California

LOS ANGELES — Santa Ana winds will gust across much of Southern California starting Friday morning and continuing into Saturday, potentially causing hazardous driving conditions for trucks and other high-profile vehicles.

“Northeast winds will start to increase Friday morning across the L.A. Mountains and L.A./Ventura valleys then quickly spread down through the Highway 14 and Highway 126 corridors into the valleys and coastal areas, with gusts to 45 mph possible,” according to the National Weather Service.

“Additional strengthening of offshore flow and upper support Friday night into early Saturday will result in gusts to or locally exceeding 60 mph, especially in the mountains and higher portions of the L.A./Ventura valleys. Peak winds are expected to occur between midnight and 8 a.m. Saturday but only slight weakening through the morning.”

The NWS issued wind advisories that will be in effect from 9 a.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday for Los Angeles County mountains; from 11 a.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday for the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys; and from 1 p.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday for the coastal area, including downtown Los Angeles.

Forecasters said the coastal area will see winds of 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 40 mph, while the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys will have winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusting up to 50 mph.

“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles,” forecasters said.

A wind advisory was also issued for the San Bernardino and Riverside county valleys and mountains, the Inland Empire, and cities that include Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario, Moreno Valley, Fontana, Rancho Cucamonga, Corona, Crestline, Lake Arrowhead, Big Bear City, Big Bear Lake, Running Springs, Wrightwood, Idyllwild-Pine Cove, Banning and Desert Hot Springs. The advisory will be in effect from 11 a.m. Friday to 3 p.m. Saturday, with northeast winds expected at 15 to 20 mph with 50 mph gusts.

According to the NWS, the windy conditions could stretch into Sunday.

The high winds are not expected to prompt any red flag or fire warnings, thanks to anticipated humidity levels of 25% or more and the recent rains.

No advisories were in effect for Orange County, where winds were expected to be calm in the morning, 5 mph in the afternoon, and 5 to 10 mph on Saturday.

There were also no advisories called for the San Gabriel Valley and mountains, where winds were predicted to blow at 5 to 10 mph Friday and 10 to 15 mph out of the northeast on Saturday, with 20 mph gusts.

Source: Orange County Register