Thanksgiving forecast to serve Santa Ana winds in Southern California
LOS ANGELES - Another round of Santa Ana winds is in store for the Southland, with gusty conditions expected to begin Wednesday evening and build into Thanksgiving -- again raising concerns of possible wildfires.
A high wind watch issued by the National Weather Service will take effect Wednesday night and continue through Thursday afternoon in the Santa Monica and Los Angeles County Mountains and the Santa Clarita and San Fernando valleys.
Most areas can expect winds of 25 to 40 mph, with gusts potentially reaching 65 mph
"Damaging winds could blow down large objects such as trees and power lines," according to the NWS. "Power outages are possible. Travel could be difficult, especially for high profile vehicles."
At 1 a.m. Thursday, a fire weather watch will take effect in the same areas impacted by the high wind watch and continue through Friday morning. A separate fire weather watch will be in effect for the Malibu Coast from Thursday morning through Thursday night.
FILE-A big rig sits blown over on its side after being toppled by high Santa Ana Winds. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images) (Getty Images)
Forecasters said the fire weather watch is prompted by the combination of gusting Santa Ana winds and humidity levels that are expected to range between 5% and 15%, meaning particularly dry conditions that can be conducive to fires.
"This Santa Ana event will be a bit more out of the east than recent events leading to more of a focus on the western San Fernando Valley and western portions of the Santa Monica mountains," according to the NWS. "... There is a smaller window of critical conditions for coastal areas along and west of Malibu into Coastal Ventura County centered on the daytime Thursday."
With a fire weather watch taking effect, forecasters urged residents in fire-prone areas to begin preparing right away for possibly blazes that could force evacuations. The NWS urged residents to visit readyforwildfire.org or wildfirerisk.org for tips on preparing for blazes.