The first Santa Ana wind event of the fall season was forecast throughout the Inland Empire, prompting the National Weather Service Thursday to post a Red Flag Warning for the region.
“Santa Ana winds will develop Friday and bring a large decrease in humidity over inland areas,” the NWS said in a statement. “Gusts between 30 and 40 mph are possible in windier areas. A few areas will have combined sustained (northerly) winds of 25 mph and gusts of 35-plus mph when humidity will be less than 15%, possibly for up to six hours Friday afternoon.”
The Red Flag Warning, which implies higher wildfire risks, will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, while a Wind Advisory will remain in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday.
“Especially given the dry (vegetation), there will be elevated to critical fire weather conditions, from the San Bernardino Mountains southwest through the Inland Empire and to the Santa Ana Mountains,” the NWS stated.
As troughs of low pressure spin eastward Thursday night into Friday, they’ll be replaced by a ridge of high pressure sweeping over California from the Pacific and anchoring over the Great Basin of Nevada and Utah, influencing area weather patterns through the weekend, according to the Weather Service.
Forecasters said that locally gusty northeast winds may linger into Sunday.
Temperatures will be slightly above normal across the region for the weekend, with the Riverside metropolitan area topping out in the low 80s Saturday and Sunday, giving way to overnight lows around 50.
In the Coachella Valley, the mercury will edge into the mid 80s Saturday and Sunday, falling to the low 60s at night, while the Temecula Valley’s temperature band will be much the same as Riverside’s.
Going into next week, sunny and dry conditions will persist across the region, with no precipitation in the seven-day forecast.