Santa Ana Winds Blow Through Los Angeles County

LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CA -- The first hot licks of Santa Ana winds began to toast the hills and canyons of Southern California Sunday, in advance of a large Santa Ana windstorm in the forecasts.

"And so it begins," noted the National Weather Service analysis, as a "monster" high pressure ridge set up over Idaho Sunday, squeezing air down into deserts and through mountains toward the Pacific coast. The latest maps showed the offshore winds would be stronger than had been forecast on Saturday, and they may last into Wednesday.

At Dodger Stadium, Santa Anas may engulf Game One of the World Series, possibly blowing over of the outfield pavilion and directly towards home plate.

Forty-one mile per hour wind gusts had been clocked near the Santa Ana River Canyon near Anaheim by 10 a.m. Near Palm Springs, winds in the San Gorgonio Pass were gusting to 32 miles per hour at Banning, and peaks gusts were clocked at Boulevard, in the mountains 45 miles east of San Diego.

Southern Californians were told to brace for 100-degree-plus temperatures and winds of up to 65 miles per hour in canyons and mountains, as the weather maps Sunday pointed to critically dangerous fire weather on Monday and Tuesday.

Highs of 103 were predicted for the San Fernando Valley Monday and Tuesday, and winds of between 40-50 miles per hour in passes, and up to 65 mile per hour gusts, were forecast.

Red Flag Warnings were up Sunday in all the windiest places, including the inland valleys and Santa Monica Mountains east and west of Malibu.

--City News Service/Photo by Shutterfly