Palm Springs Aerial Tramway bracing for windy conditions

The Coachella Valley will be facing fierce winds on Thursday's First Alert Weather Alert Day, as gusty conditions pound Palm Springs.

One of the city's most desirable attractions, the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, is preparing for strong weather changes and the potential to close due to high winds.

Chris Bartsch, the Vice President of Tramway Systems, says his operations team monitors wind conditions every 30 minutes with wind trackers at each of the five towers.

Last month the tramway closed for one day due to gusty conditions. Bartsch says for a closure to happen, they usually observe winds of 45 miles per hour for over 30 minutes at multiple towers.

"In the cabins, the car operators actually get an audible tone when the wind speeds exceed 35 miles an hour. So we have procedures in place that when we get that alert from the car operator, we set things in place. We add weight to the car with water, reduce the speed and at some point, if we get to a certain point in wind conditions, we will actually stop operations," Bartsch said.

But this week, he says a closure is unlikely as the strongest winds came overnight.

Those measures are just one of many taken to ensure riders have a safe trip.

"There's what we call the crow's nest at the top of the hanger right next to the cables. So every day we have a mechanic ride that up and down to check everything. Every morning before we operate, we have someone right up on the roof just to listen and look and see what's going on."

Bartsch also says strong winds on the valley floor won't always reflect the same weather conditions at the top of Mt. San Jacinto.

As these winter conditions bring the tram's third batch of snow this year, several riders heading up the tram said they're willing to brave the winds for a snow day.

"We are dressed for the desert. But we don't have snow in Georgia, so we thought we would find the snow here," Julianne, a tourist from Georgia said.