First Alert Weather Alert: Winds set to peak on Tuesday

THOUSAND PALMS, Calif. (KESQ) – We remain under a First Alert Weather Alert as we track the impacts of gusty winds that are set to peak this afternoon. After a gorgeous Memorial Day weekend, wind gusts have returned to the Coachella Valley, kicking up plenty of dust as the crowd heads out of town.

This morning, you'll likely be encountering more deteriorating air quality. We're moderate valley-wide right now, but I expect unhealthy to hazardous conditions, especially when winds restrengthen into the afternoon and evening hours.

A Wind Advisory will officially go into effect Tuesday afternoon and last through early Thursday morning. This doesn't include the valley floor, but areas to our west, like the San Gorgonio Pass will be under this advisory as gusts should approach 60 MPH in those spots. Desert cities are under a Windblown Dust Advisory for air quality & visibility impacts. That is set to expire 5:00 a.m. on Wednesday.

Wind gusts are weaker in some spots this morning, like Palm Desert and La Quinta. Along the I-10 is a different story, though: gusts still look to stay strong, near 35-50 MPH through Thousand Palms and Whitewater.

Gusts will increase considerably and become more widespread just after lunchtime. Stronger gusts continue to build and are expected to peak past dinnertime. Here's a look at 8:00 p.m., when our models anticipate gusts near 50 MPH in spots like Thermal.

Temperatures will be much lower over the next couple of days thanks to the increased winds. We expect to drop into the 80s on Wednesday and Thursday. Highs will rebound into the weekend as calmer conditions return. Check out the nearly 20 degree swing from Wednesday to Monday next week – that's the first day of June! We remain under our Weather Alert tonight, and your First Alert Weather Team is in discussion about extending it as winds look to stay strong through Wednesday, too.

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