Strong winds blew across parts of the Southland Friday, especially the Antelope Valley and the San Gabriel Mountains, and colder temperatures spread across the area.
The weekend will be even cooler.
A wind advisory that went into force Thursday will be in effect in the Antelope Valley until 10 p.m. Friday as will a wind advisory scheduled to take effect in the San Gabriels at 10 Friday morning.
The National Weather Service forecast southwest-to-west winds of between 20 and 30 miles per hour and 50-mph gusts in the Antelope Valley, slowly dying down Friday night.
“These winds will make driving high-profile vehicles difficult. The winds will also produce clouds of blowing dust and sand, which can locally reduce visibility to near zero at times,” warned an NWS statement.
The Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and Pearblossom (SR 138) Highway could be particularly problematic, NWS forecasters said, urging motorists to be especially cautious and to be prepared for strong, sudden crosswinds.
The San Gabriel foothills and the Lake Palmdale area — both in the Antelope Valley — will see isolated gusts of up to 55 mph during the peak of the wind event this morning through this afternoon, according to the NWS statement.
Southwest-to-west winds of between 20 and 30 mph were also expected in the San Gabriel Mountains, along with 45-mph gusts.
Crisp winds were forecast in areas where no wind advisory was issued — b15 mph along the coast and in metropolitan L.A, 10 to 20 mph in the Santa Monica Mountains, 15-25 mph in the San Fernando Valley, and 15-25 mph with 35- mph gusts in the Santa Clarita Valley.
Also in Friday’s forecast is patchy drizzle and a 20 percent chance of rain in the L.A. area Friday morning. The chance of drizzle and light rain in Orange County this morning was described as light.
The NWS forecast drizzle and cloudy skies Friday and highs of 58 on Mount Wilson; 62 degrees Fahrenheit in Avalon; 63 in Laguna Beach; 64 in Mission Viejo; 65 in San Clemente; 66 in Saugus, Newport Beach, Anaheim and Irvine; 67 at LAX, in Burbank, San Gabriel, Palmdale, Lancaster and Fullerton; 68 in Pasadena, San Gabriel, Woodland Hills, Long Beach and Yorba Linda; and 69 in downtown L.A. About the same temperatures are expected Saturday. They will rise slightly Sunday and decline slightly Monday.
—City News Service