Fire Weather: Temecula Under A Red Flag Warning

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A red flag warning signifying a high risk of wildfire because of high winds and low humidity went into effect Monday morning in much of Riverside County, Temecula included, as late-season Santa Ana winds are expected to buffet Southern California over the next four days and maybe longer.

The red flag warning and a high wind warning, which indicates sustained wind speeds of 40 miles per hour and 58-mph gusts, were both expected to expire at midnight Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. But the Santa Ana winds could persist into Friday or Saturday, which would likely mean an extension of both warnings.

The red flag and high wind warnings both covered the Riverside metropolitan area, the Riverside County valleys and mountains and the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning. The high wind warning also was in effect in Corona, Idyllwild, Pine Cove, Banning and Desert Hot Springs.

Neither a red flag warning nor a high wind warning were issued for the Coachella Valley, which will experience typical winds unrelated to the Santa Ana event, with gusts of up to 40 mph, NWS forecasters said. High temperatures there Monday will be 70 to 75 degrees.

High temperatures will be 66 to 71 degrees in Riverside and the Inland Empire, 53 to 59 in the mountains and 65 to 70 at the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning and Desert Hot Springs.

— By City News Service / Patch file photo by Jessica Davis