Gusty Winds Trigger Weather Alert for Blowing Dust & Poor Air Quality Across the Valley

A First Alert Weather Alert is in place until midnight Thursday due to increased gusty winds, blowing dust, reduced visibility, road closures and poor air quality.

This is how air quality looked just before 3pm.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District has issued a Air Quality Alert due to windblown dust from 2pm Wednesday to 8pm Thursday.

Windblown dust has led to several road closures across the northwest valley.

Winds will be the biggest impact here over the next 24-36 hours.

Otherwise look for a cooler, cloudier, and windier stretch through Friday, with some changes on the horizon just in time for a big festival weekend as winds die down just a hair.

We’re continuing unseasonably cool temperatures the next few days with highs tomorrow running 10-15° below average thanks to a passing low pressure system. While the desert and the Coachella Valley stays dry, there’s a slight chance for light coastal and mountain showers late tonight into Thursday morning west of the mountains.

Another weak system moves in Thursday night into Friday, keeping rain chances alive again--west of us--but even at that, very minimal moisture is expected—and the Coachella Valley looks to remain dry.

The big story here locally across the valley? Wind. A tightening pressure gradient will bring strong southwest to west gusts through Friday night. Expect 40-55 mph gusts, with gusts up to 65 mph for the mountain passes. Strongest winds peak Thursday, but remain breezy into Friday.

By the weekend, we’ll see temperatures begin to climb a couple of degrees with more sunshine and daytime highs climbing back closer to seasonal norms.