Santa Ana winds began gusting across parts of the Southland Friday, beginning what is expected to be three days of blustery and warm conditions that could result in uprooted trees, power outages and hazardous roadways for high-profile vehicles.
By 9:30 a.m. Friday, winds up to 40 mph were already recorded in some coastal and valley areas, with gusts between 50 and 65 mph detected in the mountains.
“The Santa Ana winds have brought about a dramatic drying and warming trend compared to 24 hours ago,” according to the National Weather Service.
The winds are expected to continue into Sunday, peaking on Saturday morning
“Look for a big warm up as the offshore flow will combine with the sunny skies … and an overall warmer atmosphere to bring 4 to 8 degrees of warming to the windier portions of (Los Angeles and Ventura) counties and 2 to 4 degrees elsewhere,” according to the NWS. “Max temps in the Santa Ana area will be 10 to 15 degrees above normal with highs in the upper 70s and lower 80s. Lower to mid 70s temperatures will occur over most of rest of the (coast and valleys).”
A high wind warning will be in effect until 3 p.m. Saturday in the San Gabriel Mountains and Antelope Valley (14) Freeway corridor, with winds of 25 to 40 mph expected, gusting up to 70 mph. From 3 p.m. Saturday to 3 p.m. Sunday, a wind advisory will cover that area, with gusts reaching 55 mph possible.
“Damaging winds could blow down trees and power lines,” forecasters warned. “Power outages are possible. Travel will be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles.”
Wind advisories are also in effect until 3 p.m. Sunday in the Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast, Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, San Fernando Valley and the Golden State (5) Freeway corridor.
Almost all other Southland areas will be under a wind advisory from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, including the beaches, Catalina Island and the inland coastal area stretching into downtown Los Angeles.
The winds should weaken later Sunday and Monday, with coastal and valley areas seeing a temperature drop of about 5 to 10 degrees by Monday, with another 3 to 6 degrees of cooling on Tuesday — still leaving temperatures slightly above normal.