Santa Ana winds will return to the Inland Empire Wednesday night, lingering into Thursday, with gusts as high as 70 mph possible in a few locations, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a high wind watch.
“Winds will turn to the northeast as surface high pressure builds in … and will increase, especially along the San Bernardino mountain slopes, below the Cajon Pass through northwestern sections of the Inland Empire,” the weather service said.
“Wind gusts in the Santa Ana wind-prone areas could reach up to 70 mph.”
The high wind watch will be in effect from 9 p.m. Wednesday to 2 p.m. Thursday.
According to forecasters, the ridge of high pressure that will fuel the gusty conditions is expected to gather energy over Arizona and Nevada after a weak trough of low pressure system slides just to the east of Southern California.
Winds will average 30 mph to 40 mph in most valley locations throughout Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to the weather service.
The Santa Ana conditions will dry out the region until Saturday, when a minor band of wet weather may produce showers during the overnight hours, though the chances were slim, the weather service said.
Clear skies are expected to prevail for the rest of the week, with temperatures above average until Sunday, when a cooling trend will settle in, meteorologists said.
High temperatures in the Riverside metropolitan area will be in the low-to-mid 70s from Wednesday to Saturday. Lows will generally dip into the mid-40s.
In the Coachella Valley, daytime temperatures will approach 80 degrees over the next five days, with lows in the upper-40s, while in the Temecula Valley, highs will generally remain just above 70 for the balance of the week, with lows around 40.