Power Outages, Downed Trees As Strong Winds Buffet Southland

Strong winds and damaging gusts blasted much of Southwest California Thursday and will continue into Friday, according to the National Weather Service.

The high wind warning for gusts of up to 60 miles per hour was distributed by the NWS at just after 6 p.m. Thursday, and expected to last until noon on Friday for areas from the Santa Monica Mountains recreational area, Los Angeles County Mountains, Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, Los Angeles County and San Gabriel Valley as well as Catalina and the Santa Barbara Islands. The most severe winds were expected to taper off after midnight and into Friday morning.

Strong northwest to north winds will impact many portions of Southwest California through Friday morning in the wake of a passing weak weak cold front. The strongest winds will be across the mountains (especially the Interstate 5 corridor, Santa Monica mountains, and Santa Ynez range), Antelope Valley, and Santa Barbara county south coast where damaging gusts of 60 mph or greater are likely.

Strong winds will also continue impact many coastal and valley areas across Southwest California, where gusts between 40 and 55 mph will be common. The strong winds will likely bring some downed trees and power lines, which could result in power outages.

Witnesses shared reports of power outages in Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, as well as multiple downed trees before 9 p.m. Thursday.

Strong winds felled trees in Arleta, El Sereno, Alhambra and Irwindale, according to Broadcast reports. A Larchmont neighborhood also suffered at least downed tree.

The winds were expected to continue to blow and gust at over 20 miles per hour across much of the southland through Friday morning.

Ashley Ludwig, Photo