This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Strong Winds and High Surf Expected in the Southland

The National Weather Service issues a wind advisory.

   Gusty winds again will sweep the Southland today as high surf pounds the coast starting this afternoon, generating potentially deadly rip currents, forecasters said.
   A wind advisory denoting an expectation of sustained winds of 35 mph or
greater will be effect from 3 p.m. today until 3 a.m. Saturday in what the
National Weather Service regards as Los Angeles County's coastal zone, which
includes the beaches, Malibu, Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, downtown L.A., much
of the city's urban core and the Hollywood Hills.
   It's the first time this week that wind speeds will have reached advisory levels in the coastal zone, where National Weather Service forecasters say they expect winds of between 15 and 25 miles per hour, gusting to 35 mph, beginning this afternoon and lasting through tonight.
   Crosswinds could make driving difficult on Pacific Coast Highway, the
Santa Monica (10) Freeway and the San Diego (405) Freeways, they said.
   A wind advisory also will go into effect at 3 p.m. for 12 hours on Santa
Catalina Island, another region that experienced much tamer winds earlier
this week. Forecasters said the island would be swept today by winds of between 20 and 30 mph, gusting to 40 mph. Island residents were advised to close their windows and secure outdoor objects so that they don't become wind-borne projectiles.
   In the Antelope Valley, a wind advisory will last until 9 p.m. tomorrow.
Until then, residents can expect west winds of between 20 and 30 mph, gusting
to 45 mph and maybe even 50 mph, NWS forecasters said. The winds, combined with the blinding sand and dust they might churn up, will create dangerous conditions on the Antelope Valley (14) Freeway and Pearblossom Highway (SR 138).
   Along west-facing beaches, "potentially hazardous surf and very strong
rip currents are expected late (this) afternoon through Saturday morning'' as a
result of gale-force winds, according to an NWS advisory.
   The tide will range from around 3.3 feet around 2 p.m. to 2.8 feet at
6:30 p.m. to around 5 feet after midnight, according to the advisory.
   Today's winds mark the start of a two-day wind event coming on the heels
of a three-day event that ended Thursday. What makes them distinct events in
the minds of forecasters is that the region experienced mostly northerly winds
earlier this week while what's expected today and Saturday are westerly winds,
said NWS meteorologist David Sweet.
   Sweet said the high winds result from an unseasonable low pressure
system out of the Pacific Northwest.
   Southland temperatures today and through the weekend mostly will be
lower than earlier in the week. Rain is forecast on Mount Wilson today, but
most communities in the Greater L.A. area will be mostly cloudy, turning partly
cloudy Saturday and Sunday, though a few are expected to be sunny.
   The NWS forecast highs today of 49 on Mount Wilson; 59 in Avalon; 65 in
Saugus; 66 at LAX, in Anaheim, Lancaster, Pasadena and San Gabriel; 67 in
Newport Beach, Burbank and Palmdale; 68 in downtown L.A. and Long Beach; and 69 in Woodland Hills. Temperatures are expected to rise by a few degrees Saturday and climb again on Sunday, especially in the Antelope Valley, where highs are expected to return to the 80s.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?