After Brief Respite, Santa Ana Winds Returning to Southland into Weekend
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - After a respite of just a few hours, strong Santa Ana winds were expected to return to parts of the Southland tonight and into the weekend, the National Weather Service said.
While one round of wind advisories expired at noon Thursday, the weather service quickly posted a new round, beginning at 10 p.m. Thursday and gradually expanding around the L.A. area overnight.
Winds of between 20 and 40 mph were expected, with gusts as high as 55, depending on the location.
The most recent rounds of advisories included:
-- the Los Angeles County Mountains, excluding the Santa Monica Range, from 10 p.m. Thursday to 2 p.m. Saturday. Northeast winds 25 to 40 mph, with gusts to 55, were in the forecast -- following a more severe high wind warning that expired Thursday
-- the Santa Clarita Valley, from 2 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, with winds 20 to 30 mph and gusts up to 45
-- the Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area, from 2 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, with winds 20 to 30 mph and gusts to 50
-- the San Fernando Valley, from 2 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, with winds 20 to 30 mph and gusts to 50
-- and the L.A. County coast and downtown L.A., from 6 a.m. Friday to 2 p.m. Saturday, with winds 15 to 25 mph and gusts to 35 mph. The strongest winds there were expected from Ventura to the Malibu coast.
In addition, a wind advisory for Orange County inland areas remained in effect until noon Friday, calling for northeast winds 15 to 25 mph, with gusts to 45 mph.
The new advisories follow a round of strong Santa Anas that began Wednesday and stretched into Thursday -- with gusts hitting 60 mph in some areas, including one that topped 80 mph Wednesday morning at the Magic Mountain Truck Trail.
The wind alerts brought with them warnings that unsecured objects could be blown around, tree limbs could topple and some power outages may result.
In addition, travel could be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles, the NWS said.
Forecasters said there is ``no precipitation in sight'' for the Southland, with temperatures increasing gradually over the course of the week, reaching the lower 80s in some areas by early next week.