Another round of Santa Ana winds expected this week in Southern California – Orange County Register

More Santa Ana winds are heading into Southern California this week, bringing heavy gusts to mountain and foothill areas and expected to peak Wednesday morning, Jan. 26, meteorologists said.

The latest round comes after some areas were cleaning up after heavy gusts knocked down trees and power lines over the weekend. The winds are not expected to be as powerful, but gusts in mountain or foothill areas could reach up to 50 mph, meteorologists said.

“With any kind of strong winds, there’s always a chance that trees could blow over and anything outdoors could get blown around,” said Casey Oswant, a National Weather Service meteorologist. “Another concern could be those semi-trucks driving on the freeway.”

Gusts between 25 to 35 mph were seen in the Inland Empire on Tuesday afternoon, but they’re likely to strengthen into Wednesday morning.

Coastal areas in Orange or Los Angeles counties were not expected to see much wind.

Temperatures on Wednesday should be slightly warmer than usual, Oswant said. Highs in the Inland Empire were expected to be in the mid-70s and mid-to-upper 60s in Orange County.

In Los Angeles County, temperatures were forecast in the 70s in valley areas, which is about 5 to 10 degrees above normal for this time of year, said David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Gusts in Los Angeles County could reach 50 mph in the mountains and about 45 mph in the valleys, he said.

More winds are expected on Friday.