Dire warnings have been issued for the Los Angeles area after forecasters say there is the potential for the strongest wind event in more than a decade.
A “life-threatening, destructive, widespread windstorm” is expected Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning, Los Angeles forecasters at the National Weather Service said.
Damaging winds are expected across most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, leading to widespread power outages.
“Strong winds are coming,” the NWS said. “This is a Particularly Dangerous Situation — in other words, this is about as bad as it gets in terms of fire weather. Stay aware of your surroundings. Be ready to evacuate, especially if in a high fire risk area. Be careful with fire sources.”
The strongest winds will blow through Southern California from Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon, with gusts peaking near 80 mph. Isolated areas in the mountains and foothills will see gusts of 80 to 100 mph.
Flights going in and out of Los Angles International Airport can expect delays as forecasters warn of “quite dangerous” mountain waves for pilots. Airlines and pilots are being urged not to fly near terrain during the windstorm.
The widespread damaging winds and low humidity are also leading to extreme fire concerns across most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
NWS Los Angeles said Tuesday’s windstorm has the potential to be the strongest wind event since 2011. The 2011 windstorm toppled trees, downed power lines and knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of customers.
While winds are forecast to die down by Wednesday evening, a renewed threat of strong winds returns to the region on Friday.
