Will Santa Ana winds keep stoking California wildfires? Here's the weekend forecast.
Gusty Santa Ana winds are forecast to come and go over southern California in the next several days, at times further exacerbating the deadly and devastating wildfires across the region.
The strongest gusts expected early next week, especially next Monday night and into Tuesday, forecasters said.
And as strong as the wind is forecast to be next week, "we are not forecasting a replica of the winds from earlier this week," AccuWeather senior meteorologist Heather Zehr told USA TODAY Friday.
Those howling winds, measured at speeds approaching 100 mph, fueled the ferocious firestorms that followed.
A brief break
"The wind will drop off quickly Friday, and the rest of the day through much of Saturday should be relatively tranquil compared to recent days," Zehr said.
Beginning on Monday, winds are forecast to increase across coastal areas of Southern California.
"At this time, it appears a moderate to possibly a strong wind event is coming during the period from Monday to Tuesday and perhaps Wednesday," Zehr said.
Tuesday winds will be strong
The National Weather Service in Los Angeles warns that "an extended period of elevated to potentially critical fire weather conditions are in the forecast for Sunday through Wednesday due to moderate to locally strong offshore winds, likely peaking on Tuesday."
The weather service said, "right now it looks like Tuesday will be the strongest day. Unlike this week's very dangerous event which was more of a northerly wind event this one is very likely to be a traditional northeast Santa Ana event."
"Still, the low humidities and the winds will combine to bring enhanced fire danger to the area," the weather service said.
Residents are urged to stay tuned to the latest information and remain vigilant in steps to protect life and property, the weather service said.
Air quality concerns
Unfortunately, Zehr said any smoke being output by smoldering fires, when combined with light winds, can lead to pollutants being trapped rather than dispersed, creating unhealthy air quality concerns.
Air quality alerts remain in place across much of the area, with many neighborhoods exposed to “unhealthy” levels due to the fine particle pollution from wildfire smoke, AccuWeather said.
Dry weather continues
No substantial rain is forecast to fall in southern California over the next several days, a continuation of what's been a remarkably dry stretch of weather for the region.
Los Angeles has not received a quarter of an inch of rain since mid-April last year, a period when downtown L.A. typically receives between 5 and 6 inches of rain, AccuWeather said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weekend Santa Ana wind forecast for Los Angeles amid wildfires