Gusty Santa Ana winds sweep across Southern California, raising fire concerns
LOS ANGELES - Santa Ana winds gusted across Southern California on Thursday, sweeping skies clear and raising fire concerns.
Forecasters did not issue red-flag warnings but did predict elevated to briefly critical fire weather conditions.
Near-record high temperatures were predicted for most coastal and valley locations through Friday.
A slow cooling trend will begin Sunday as the high pressure creating the offshore winds weakens, but temperatures will remain above normal into early next week, the National Weather Service said.
A wind advisory is in effect for parts of Los Angeles County until from 3 a.m. Thursday morning to 2 p.m. Friday.
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles is reporting on Twitter that winds at Whitaker Peak in the L.A. County mountains reached 63 mph. In the San Luis Obispo County mountains, gusts reached 54 mph at Mount Lowe.
The wind advisory is for the Los Angeles County mountains excluding the Santa Monica range.
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It is in effect in Acton, Mount Wilson, Sandberg, Santa Clarita, Newhall, Valencia, Woodland Hills, Northridge, Burbank and Universal City.
Winds are expected to come from the northeast between 20 mph and 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph.
According to the National Weather Service, gusty winds can blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. Tree limbs can be blown down and power outages may result.
Strongest winds will be in the Santa Clarita Valley, northwestern San Fernando Valley and in the Santa Susanna Mountains.
The wind advisory is in effect on the L.A. County coast areas and downtown, including Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Hollywood and Long Beach.
North winds are expected to reach between 15 and 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
Tune in to FOX 11 Los Angeles for the latest Southern California news.
CNS contributed to this report.