Strong Santa Ana winds continued blasting parts of the Southland Friday, making driving hazardous in some areas and raising the risk of downed trees and blowing debris, and the breezy conditions are expected to continue into Saturday.
According to the National Weather Service, winds gusts were averaging about 35 to 55 mph in some areas Friday morning, primarily in the mountains and northern valleys. In some “typically infamous windy spots,” such as Magic Mountain Truck Trail and Warm Springs — gusts were in the 60 to 70 mph range, with one gust clocked at 74 mph, according to the NWS.
“Gusts this high are likely to remain localized over the wind `magnets’ through the morning,” forecasters said. “Winds will slowly diminish through the day but remain quite breezy through Saturday morning, specifically inland.”
A wind advisory will be in effect through noon Saturday for the Los Angeles County Mountains and Santa Clarita Valley. The advisory is scheduled to expire at 4 p.m. Friday for the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains and the coastal area including downtown, but forecasters said it could be extended depending on how conditions develop Friday afternoon.
Despite the Santa Ana winds, temperatures will remain somewhat cool, with temperatures mostly in the 50s and 60s in windy areas, thanks to cold, dry air. Less windy spots, however, could reach the mid-70s, forecasters said.
Forecasters said earlier that mountain and higher valley areas are likely to have the strongest winds, gusting up to 55 mph, while other locations will have winds of 30 mph to 50 mph.
In Orange County, a wind advisory will be in effect until 10 p.m. Friday for inland areas and the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills. Forecasters said the areas could see winds of 20 to 30 mph, with gusts of up to 55 mph.
Forecasters urged motorists in all advisory areas to use extra caution when driving, “especially if operating a high-profile vehicle.”
“Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects,” according to the NWS. “Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result.”
Southern California Edison crews will be on alert during the wind event, and the utility reminded customers that outage information is available on its website at SCE.com and on Facebook and Twitter. SCE noted that the winds are not expected to be as severe as last week’s Santa Ana event, which saw gusts of up to 90 mph in some mountain and foothill areas, knocking down trees that brought down power lines.
The utility recommended that residents in wind-prone areas take precautions to prepare for possible outages, including:
— check emergency supplies, such as a battery-operated radio, flashlight and batteries;
— secure temporary structures, backyard furniture, tents or other items that can be blown away;
— avoid downed power lines;
— don’t try to remove broken tree limbs or branches that may have touched power lines;
— use caution when driving and treat intersections with inoperable traffic signals as four-way stops;
— use flashlights instead of candles in an outage.
A full list of safety tips is available at sce.com/safety-.