Periods of lingering Santa Ana winds this week; tracking continued elevated fire danger
Fire weather is continuing throughout Southern California. A mix of dry conditions and returning Santa Ana winds are combining for heightened fire risk as we start the work week.
Santa Ana winds are weakening this evening. We'll see a brief lull in the winds before another round of weak to moderate Santa Ana winds return on Monday through the middle of the week. Our FutureTrack data is showing gusts above 30 MPH through the San Gorgonio Pass by tomorrow afternoon.
A Red Flag Warning is in effect for portions of Riverside, San Bernardino, Orange, Los Angeles, and Ventura Counties. This began last night and will last until the Santa Ana winds subside on Wednesday. Riverside County mountain communities like Idyllwild and Anza were under a Fire Weather Watch – a step below a Red Flag Warning – yesterday, but that his since been upgraded to a Red Flag Warning, too. That advisory is set to go into effect Monday at 4:00 p.m. until Wednesday.
Those periods of Santa Ana winds will drop our temperatures a bit Monday and Tuesday – we should be seeing those highs in the upper 60s. Our temps should stay in the same ballpark (lower 70s) for the second half of the week as winds begin to weaken. We're anticipating slightly cooler and cloudier weather for the weekend, which could bring some slight rain chances for areas to our west. We'll keep an eye on these conditions, but at this point, rain for the desert seems unlikely.
