Dangerously strong winds are on the way to Riverside County, prompting a red-flag warning for extreme fire conditions, forecasters said Sunday.
The warning will be in effect from 10 a.m. Monday to 10 p.m. Tuesday in the mountains, according to the National Weather Service.
A high wind watch was also issued for the Riverside County mountains and valleys, with northeast and east winds of 25 to 40 mph and gusts up to 60 mph expected, and isolated gusts to 75 mph on the favored coastal slopes and canyons in the San Bernardino and Santa Ana Mountains.
Forecasters warned that damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines and cause damage to unsecured objects, and said travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.
According to the NWS, the county will continue to endure critically low relative humidity of 6% to 10% throughout the week.
Forecasters said there is fairly “high confidence” in low clouds pushing onshore Sunday evening will create low visibility in coastal terrain, Inland Empire and valleys, which will linger into Monday afternoon.
A second, weaker Santa Ana event is possible on Thursday, with a chance of rain next Saturday and Sunday, the NWS said.
High temperatures will be in the mid 60s during the day in the Riverside metropolitan area Monday and Tuesday, reaching the lower 70s Wednesday through Friday before slipping down into the low 60s next weekend. Overnight lows will generally be in the low 40s.