santa ana winds

More Santa Ana Winds, Wildfire Concerns on Tap for Thanksgiving

More Santa Ana winds are in store for Southern California with gusty conditions expected for the Thanksgiving holiday causing high wind warnings to go into effect.

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Another round of Santa Ana winds is in store for the Southland, with gusty conditions expected for Thanksgiving -- again raising concerns of possible wildfires.

A high wind warning issued by the National Weather Service will be in effect through 3 p.m. Thursday in the Santa Monica and Los Angeles County mountains, and Acton and Mount Wilson.

Most areas can expect winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts potentially reaching 60 mph.

A wind advisory will be in effect from 3 p.m. Thursday to 11 a.m. Friday in the same areas.

Northeast winds from 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected during the wind advisory.

"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.

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.

Copyright CNS - City News Service
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