Gusty, damaging winds expected later tonight for LA county mountains and valleys

We're monitoring extreme fire weather conditions this week.

featured-image

Good morning and happy Monday. Fire season is in full swing as Southern California is under a red flag warning starting at 10 a.m.

today until 4 a.m. Wednesday.



Forecasters are most concerned about dry conditions and damaging winds later tonight. The National Weather Service says the red flag warning will be upgraded to a "Particularly Dangerous Situation" starting at 10 p.m.

until 2 p.m. Tuesday for the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, including the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys and the Ventura County coast.

Wind gusts will reach between 60 to 80 mph for the mountains, and 40 to 65 mph for valleys and coast. NWS Meteorologist Robbie Munroe said tonight's conditions will be "similar in magnitude to the strong Santa Ana event back on November 5th and 6th that led to the Mountain Fire, with also similar conditions for those that might remember going back to 2018 for the Thomas Fire." Munroe added that people should look out for downed trees, power lines and travel days that could affect some of the major airports.

If you live in any of these areas, stay alert and be prepared to evacuate in case of a wildfire. A cooler day is on tap for the Southland. Highs for the beaches will be in the mid 60s and to the upper 60s for the coastal cities.

The valleys will stay relatively cool with highs in the low 70s with afternoon highs topping out between 70 to 73 degrees. In the high desert, temperatures will stay in the low 60s and in Coachella Valley, expect a high of 76 degrees today. Tonight's lows will drop to the upper 40s and low 50s.

.