Fierce Santa Ana Winds Forecast For Lake Elsinore, Wildomar

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Santa Ana winds will stir across the Inland Empire Thursday, and a second, more powerful windstorm is forecast going into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency said that a ridge of high pressure sliding north to south onto the Great Basin in Utah and Nevada will be in a holding pattern Thursday evening, generating stiff offshore winds for portions of Southern and Central California.

A wind advisory is in effect for Riverside and San Bernardino counties, as well as other locations, until 4 p.m. Thursday.

Winds are generally forecast to range from 15 mph to 30 mph, with 50 mph gusts possible in mountain passes and canyons, according to the NWS.

The San Gorgonio Pass through Banning and Whitewater will likely be exposed to intense winds, meteorologists said.

The second Santa Ana event will begin as upper-level pressure gradients collide over Arizona and Utah, according to the Weather Service.

"The strong dynamics associated with this system will result in a significant Santa Ana wind event for our area, fairly prolonged and widespread," the NWS said.

"Confidence is increasing that portions of the mountains and adjacent valleys will see winds reaching warning criteria, with the strongest winds ... late Friday night and Saturday morning."

Forecasters said peak gusts could top out at 75 mph in wind-prone places.

"Winds will slowly subside across the area Saturday night and Sunday," according to the NWS.

The silver lining in the forecast is that the high pressure dominating the region during the Santa Anas will keep the skies clear, meaning sunshine through the weekend, the agency said.

Daytime temps will range in the low to mid-70s in the Riverside metropolitan area until Sunday, with lows in the mid-40s, according to the Weather Service.

In the Coachella Valley, highs will crest in the mid-70s, with lows in the low 50s, and in the Temecula Valley, high temperatures will remain in the upper 60s, with lows in the low 40s.

—City News Service