Another round of gusty winds will descend on the Southland Wednesday evening and continue into Thursday, with a potentially stronger Santa Ana wind event possible starting as early as Friday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, northerly winds will develop across the region sometime Wednesday night, creating gusty conditions in the mountains and traditionally wind-prone north-south corridors. The winds will then strengthen and expand, moving into the San Fernando Valley, the Santa Monica Mountains and western Los Angeles County coastal areas.
“The passage of this trough will help drive a moderate to strong northerly wind event Wednesday afternoon through Thursday,” forecasters said. “Winds will peak tonight into Thursday morning with speeds of 35-50 mph with isolated higher elevation gusts of 55-65 mph. Winds will diminish some Thursday morning, but still remain fairly breezy through the day, potentially even pulsing up slightly in the evening.”
A series of high wind warnings will take effect Wednesday afternoon and evening and continue into Thursday.
The San Gabriel Mountains and the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway corridor will be under a wind warning from 9 p.m. Wednesday until 9 a.m. Thursday, with gusts of up to 65 mph possible. A warning will impact the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area and Malibu Coast from 2 to 9 a.m. Thursday, with winds potentially gusting to 60 mph.
A less severe wind advisory will be in place from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday in the Antelope Valley and Antelope Valley foothills, with gusts of up to 55 mph possible, forecasters said. A similar advisory will be in place from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 9 a.m. Thursday in the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys, Calabasas and Agoura Hills, where winds could hit 50 mph. Los Angeles County beaches, the Palos Verdes Hills and Catalina Island will be under a wind advisory from midnight to 9 a.m. Thursday, with winds expected to reach speeds of 40 mph.
“The event beginning (Wednesday) afternoon and continuing through Thursday night will bring north winds down to fairly atypical areas,” according to the NWS. “Notably, the northerly winds will squeeze through canyons and passes of the Santa Monicas, which will funnel winds into the western part of Los Angeles County, mostly remaining west of the 1-110. These winds will create hazardous travel conditions across major freeways such as the I-5, the I-405, and even travel delays due to crosswinds at LAX.”
Temperatures are expected to cool across much of the area on Thursday, although some coastal areas may see a slight warming thanks to north winds. Some light showers are possible on north-facing mountain slopes Wednesday night into Thursday morning, while the snow level could drop as low as 4,000 feet, meaning “some very light snow is possible near the summit on I-5,” but there will be only a 5% chance of any significant snow accumulating.
A “moderate to strong” Santa Ana event is expected to move in Friday morning, with winds turning to the northeast. The Santa Ana conditions are expected to continue into Sunday — with Saturday likely the windiest day.
“The most likely wind speeds for this event will be 20-30 mph with gusts of 40-50 mph,” forecasters said. “However, damaging gusts of 55-70 mph are still possible, with a 40% chance in the mountains and a 20% across coasts and valleys.”
The Santa Ana winds will likely warm temperatures over the weekend, peaking on Sunday with highs in the 70s and mid-80s expected in much of the area.