Gusty Santa Ana winds buffeted mountain and valley areas in the Southland Friday as part of a pattern that will create risks of wildfire over the coming days amid high winds, high temperatures and low humidity, forecasters said.
“An extended period of Santa Ana conditions are expected through early next week as high pressure builds aloft and offshore flow persists,” said a National Weather Service statement. “The gusty northeast winds and low relative humidity will bring elevated fire danger to the area through early next week.”
The strongest winds will be today and Monday, forecasters said.
A wind advisory will be in force until 2 p.m. Friday in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys in Los Angeles County, as well as in mountain and valley areas of Ventura County. In inland Orange County, the advisory will be in force until 1 p.m. Saturday.
Northeast winds of between 20 and 30 miles per hour gusting to between 40 and 50 mph are expected in the advisory area in both L.A. and Orange counties, according to NWS forecasters. The wind could make driving difficult, especially in high-profile vehicles, and trigger power outages, they said.
“Warming temperatures and low humidity will accompany the Santa Ana winds,” a statement said. Humidity levels are expected to be in the low teens through Saturday, possibly dropping to single digits Sunday through Tuesday, according to the NWS.
The NWS forecast sunny conditions Friday and highs of 59 in Palmdale; 60 in Lancaster and on Mount Wilson; 65 in Saugus; 68 in Avalon; 69 in Laguna Beach; 70 in San Clemente; 71 in Newport Beach; 73 at LAX; 74 in Woodland Hills, Mission Viejo and Irvine; 75 in downtown L.A., Pasadena, San Gabriel, Burbank, Anaheim and Fullerton; 76 in Long Beach; and 78 in Yorba Linda.
Temperatures are forecast to keep climbing steadily over the coming days, reaching 86 in several L.A. County areas Tuesday. Sunny weather is expected at least through at least next Thursday.
The high is normally 68 degrees Fahrenheit in downtown L.A. at this time of the year, but it will be 75 today, 78 Saturday, 84 Sunday and 86 Monday — 18 degrees above normal — before retreating to 82 Wednesday, said NWS meteorologist Rich Thompson, describing the heat as the result of high pressure in the atmosphere combined with warm Santa Ana winds at the surface.
—City News Service