East Winds To Prevail Across Region Friday Evening, Saturday

RIVERSIDE, CA — Strong Santa Ana winds are forecast throughout the Inland Empire Friday evening and Saturday, prompting the National Weather Service to post a Wind Advisory.

The advisory is in effect from midnight to 4 p.m. Saturday, with east winds averaging 20 to 30 mph, and gusts to 50 mph in some locations.

"The Santa Ana winds will diminish late Saturday afternoon, though periods of breezy northeast winds will continue each night and early morning through Tuesday," according to an NWS statement. "Another round of similarly strong Santa Ana winds are expected Sunday night into Monday."

According to the Weather Service, multiple high pressure ridges are settling over the Great Basin in Utah and Nevada, fueling the offshore flows.

The same pattern has repeated since mid-January, ushering in wind events, though most in February have been mild by comparison.

The mercury will rise in conjunction with the drying out spurred by the high pressure systems, according to forecasters.

"The inland valleys and lower deserts will see the warmest temperatures, with widespread 80s expected Tuesday and Wednesday," the Weather Service said. "Models are showing some low 90s possible. Beyond Wednesday, the general trend in the models is an upper-level trough moving in sometime late next week, which will bring cooler conditions and increased onshore flow."

For the last two nights, frost and freeze warnings have been in effect for the Inland Empire, where temperatures plummeted to below 32 degrees in some spots.

For the weekend, the mercury is expected to peak in the low to mid-70s in the Riverside metropolitan area, with lows in the mid-40s. In the Coachella Valley, the highs will be about the same, with lows in the mid-40s to low 50s, and in the Temecula Valley, the highs will also be in the low to mid- 70s, with the mercury falling into the upper 30s during the overnight hours.

—City News Service