Strong winds were being felt in many parts of the Southland Sunday, with a more serious wind event expected to arrive as soon as Monday night, forecasters said.

“Very strong and damaging northeast winds will be possible late Monday night into Wednesday, especially across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties,” according to the National Weather Service.

Gusts were as high as 50 mph Sunday in the mountains and the Santa Clarita Valley, and up to 45 mph in the San Fernando Valley.

By Monday night, the mountain gusts could reach 70 mph, and 75 mph by Tuesday, according to the NWS. Orange County will feel strong winds as well, with gusts up to 55 mph Monday night and 60 mph Tuesday.

The weather service is also calling for a slight chance of rain and snow showers across the mountains of eastern Los Angeles County Monday night through Tuesday night.

Due to the winds and low relative humidity, a period of elevated to brief critical fire weather conditions was declared for L.A. and Ventura counties through at least Monday night, the NWS said.

The NWS also said the high winds might prompt Southern California Edison to issue Public Safety Power Shutoffs, in which electricity is turned off for customers in wind-prone areas to prevent the possibility of downed power lines sparking wildfires.

A map of the utility’s PSPS plans is available at www.sce.com/wildfire/psps.

The strong winds early this week will be accompanied by a significant drop in temperatures, with highs in the upper 60 and 70s in the greater Los Angeles area on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then dropping into the upper 60s on Tuesday.

That’s a marked change from this weekend, when some high temperature records were set in the Southland. Downtown Los Angeles set a new record for Jan. 16 with a high of 88 on Saturday, breaking the old record of 86 set in 1976.

A cold weather alert was issued for the Antelope Valley effective from Monday through Friday, and for the L.A. County mountains on Tuesday. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said below-freezing temperatures were expected in those areas overnight, and warned that “children, the elderly, and people with disabilities or special medical needs are especially vulnerable during cold weather. Extra precaution should be taken to ensure they don’t get too cold when they are outside.”

Residents were also warned not to leave pets outside at night.

A high-surf advisory in effect at Los Angeles County beaches through 10 p.m. Tuesday.

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