Strong Santa Ana’s Keep Gusty Winds & Fire Weather Lingering, but Rain Makes a Return this Weekend

Critical fire weather conditions continue for Southern California as strong Santa Ana winds and low relative humidifies linger through the end of the work week before a big shift in our weather pattern. 

Northeast Santa Ana winds 30-45mph for High Wind Warning/Red Flag Warning zones with some gusts up to 70-80 mph possible in the mountains.

Expect winds to peak Thursday, then gradually ease up by Friday morning. Winds will be accompanied by very low humidity, with afternoon levels dipping as low as 5% to 10%, only exacerbating fire risk. Look for occasional breezy winds around the Coachella Valley floor, but most of our stronger winds staying in the mountains and passes.

As Red Flag Warning is in place locally for Desert Hot Springs and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning until 10am Friday for the mountains. We’ll see winds 30-45mph, with gusts 60-75mph and relative humidity levels ranging from 5-10%. 

Our weather pattern starts to shift as we head into the weekend with an upper-level low pressure system driving south and bringing with it increasing chances for rain and mountain snow. The system is expected to track westward, with the highest chances of precipitation from Saturday night into Sunday. The Coachella Valley could see 0.25" of rain, with more significant totals likely in the mountains. Snow levels will drop to 3,500-4,000 feet, potentially impacting the High Desert and higher elevations, with snow accumulations possible above 7,000 feet. Though some high desert areas could see snow accumulation as well. 

Our opportunity for showers lingers into early next week, Monday and Tuesday. We’ll see some cooler temperatures that accompany the wet weather, especially in the mountains as we see high temps dipping back into the upper 60s.