Strong Santa Ana winds whip throughout Southern California

Strong winds whipped through Southern California on Saturday, with the strongest gusts clocked at 88 mph in the San Diego County mountains region.

The National Weather Service issued a high wind advisory in the early-morning hours Saturday warning of whipping winds, from Ventura to San Diego counties. The advisory will be in place through Sunday early afternoon.

“We’re expecting the conditions to persist through the weekend, especially in the areas that are prone to strong winds, said Paul Steward, meteorologist for NWS.

Strong Santa Ana winds can bring a heightened worry for fire dangers, but recent rains have helped to lessen the concern, said Steward.

“Lucky because of all the recent rain we’ve had, we’ve had ‘green ups’,” he said, referring to new vegetation growth. “Anytime you have ‘green ups,’ that mitigates the fire threats.”

It’s when that vegetation is dry that the conditions become hazardous.

“That being said, anytime you have storm winds, a fire can spread,” he said. “It’s still important to be careful outdoors with any fire starting, like a camp fire. You can have embers get picked up by the wind and light something else on fire… you still have to be careful when you’re out there.”

Nighttime temperatures can drop quickly when Santa Ana wind conditions exist, with some areas in the Inland Empire near or below freezing conditions, he noted.

“The temps can drop off really fast at night,” he said.

Strong winds can also cause hazardous driving conditions, Steward said.

The NWS warned that gusty winds can blow around unsecured objects, and tree limbs could be blown down.

There also could be power outages and recently saturated soils could increase the risk of downed trees, NWS warned.

Orange County inland areas had winds from 15 to 25 mph, with gusts up to 45 mph, higher in the foothills.

In areas near Los Angeles County, the northeast winds were in the 20-to-30 mph range, according to the wind advisory.

Several areas in the mountain and foothill region of San Diego County got 70 to 80 mph winds.

Riverside’s Devil’s Canyon recorded 66 mph, while Chino Hills had 44 mph winds.

Areas like Tustin and Lake Forest saw winds in the upper 20 mph range. Fremont Canyon near Irvine Lake clocked 51 mph winds.