A wind advisory is in effect for much of Riverside County until at least 1 p.m. Sunday as Santa Ana winds return to Southern California.
Northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph were expected in the cities of Moreno Valley, Riverside, Corona, Temecula and Hemet until Sunday.
Strong winds started blowing across the Inland Empire on Thursday amid a shift in the jet stream that will dry out the region following the storms that ended 2025, according to the National Weather Service.
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects,” the NWS said. “Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. Riverside County Mountains, San Diego County Mountains, and San Gorgonio Pass near Banning are forecasted to feel the biggest brunt of this Santa Ana wind event.”
Forecasters also predicted the arrival of warmer temperatures, peaking around the middle of next week. Saturday and Sunday highs were expected to peak in the low 70s throughout the county, according to the NWS. Highs should reach the upper 70s by the middle of next week.
Forecasters expressed doubts about elevated wildfire risks during the Santa Ana winds.
“While these warm, dry and windy conditions will boost fire potential, relatively high vegetation moisture … will mitigate that threat,” according to the weather service.
The Riverside metropolitan area received well over an inch of rain from the Christmas and New Year’s storms, and in November, the area recorded 2.5 inches of precipitation — three times the average for that month in a given year, NWS data showed.