Long Beach Forecast: Gbbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

Temperatures may dip as low as 35 degrees overnight in Long Beach, the WeatherBug and National Weather Service predict, though Belmont Shore and coastal areas may be a few degrees warmer.

A red flag warning, indicating that critical fire-weather conditions are expected because of high winds and low humidity, will be in force over the region until 4 p.m. Tuesday. The warning issued by the National Weather Service took effect at 6 a.m. along the Los Angeles and Orange County coast, metropolitan L.A. and the Hollywood Hills. The same forecast had been issued an hour earlier in the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, the Angeles National Forest, and the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys.

NWS meteorologists forecast winds gusting at between 45 and 60 mph today in coastal and valley areas and at 65 mph in mountain passes and canyons amid humidity levels of between 10 and 15 percent. In such conditions, ``if fire ignition occurs, there could be rapid spread of wildfire that would lead to a threat to life and property,'' according to an NWS advisory.

As is generally the case, this morning's most violent gusts were recorded in the Los Angeles County portion of the San Gabriel Mountains, including 62 mph at Chilao, 58 mph at Camp Nine and 52 mph in Warm Springs. Forecasters attributed the new round of high winds to a spell of high pressure over the Great Basin. The San Gabriel Valley, the area hardest-hit by Wednesday's winds, was expected to be spared the main thrust of the new wind event, said NWS meteorologist David Sweet. Last week's windstorm caused more than a quarter-million residential and commercial customers to lose power.

City News Service contributed to this report.