2 weeks Ago
The L.A. region is in for some rollercoaster weather this week.
The National Weather Service is sounding the alarm for damaging and harmful winds heading toward portions of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, two weeks after the start of the historic fires that have devastated the region. A "particularly dangerous situation" red flag warning — the sternest of the weather service's fire weather alerts — will be in effect between noon Monday and 10 a.m.
Tuesday. Isolated 100 mph gusts possible Sustained winds of 25 mph to 40 mph are expected across coastal and valley areas — with gusts of 50 mph to 70 mph. For mountain and foothill areas, the weather service is expecting sustained winds between 30 mph to 50 mph, with gusts of 60 mph to 80 mph.
" There is that potential for isolated gusts up to 100 mph," said NWS meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld. Here are the areas the "PDS" warning covers — included are fire ravaged areas like Malibu and Altadena, according to the NWS. It's dry out there Schoenfeld noted that of the handful of "PDS" warnings that have been issued this winter, including the historic windstorm that fanned the Eaton and Palisades fires — this week's alert is unique because of how crispy things are out there.
"This may be one of the driest fire weather events that we've seen so far this year," she said. "We're looking at widespread single digit humidities down to 3% for some areas." That means combustible fire conditions.
"We still have not gotten rain since the last particularly dangerous event here. So, the fuels and fire weather conditions continue to be extremely favorable for rapid fire growth," she added. Fire weather watch after Tuesday At the conclusion of the PDS warning on Tuesday evening, a fire weather watch will be in effect until Thursday.
Chance of thunderstorms this weekend Firefighters have taken advantage of favorable weather conditions last week to bring the Palisades and Eaton fires under control. The former is at over 50% contained; while the latter is at more than 80%. But excessive rain could mean trouble for burned areas.
Currently, the weather service is looking at around a 50% to 70% for rainfall between Saturday and next Monday — with around a 20% to 30% chance for thunderstorms. No estimates currently on expected rainfall this weekend, but the chance of thunderstorms, Schoenfeld said, "that does bring the potential for isolated areas of excessive rain and flooding, which would be of concern for burn scars.".
