Damaging Winds Continue in Southern California

Thousands of homes are threatened, winds are expected to heighten fire dangers today.

Image courtesy: : accuweather.com

(LOS ANGELES) - Weather analysts say there will be little diminishing of the Santa Ana winds blowing over Southern California today. Strong, gusty winds will fan fires that spread rapidly on Sunday, and will help any new fires to spread quickly.

These strong winds can down power lines, which are potential fire starters. There are numerous fire-related evacuations in communities of Southern California, and as fires spread today, more mandatory and voluntary evacuations are likely to be issued.

Conditions for the strong Santa Ana wind event developed on Saturday, with very strong high pressure over Utah creating a strong gradient with lower pressures over the Pacific. Winds have gusted past hurricane force across some higher elevations and below passes and canyons of the Inland Empire.

AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Jesse Ferrell in his blog said, "As of this morning, it appeared that all (weather) station readings were holding steady or decreasing in wind speed. However, the difference between 100 mph and 80 mph is not terribly significant from a fire-fighting point of view, and major Santa Ana winds are expected to continue into Tuesday."

In addition to the high fire danger created by strong winds and low humidity levels, there will also be treacherous travel conditions. Parts of the Pacific Coast Highway have been closed due to the proximity of fires and downed trees across the region. Smoke and blowing dust will also reduce visibilities on the roadways and stronger wind gusts could topple high-profile vehicles.

Below are a handful of peak wind gusts over the weekend. While the most powerful winds - some well past hurricane force - have come across Southern California, strong gusts have also been common across the Southwest and the Rockies.

* Whitaker Peak, Calif. - 108 mph
* Laguna Peak - 101 mph
* Malibu Peak, Calif. - 101 mph
* Warm Springs, Calif. - 91 mph
* Wiley Ridge - 87 mph
* Fremont Canyon - 85 mph
* Montecito Hills - 79 mph
* Mt. Diablo - 79 mph
* Southern Wasatch Peaks, Utah - 79 mph
* Camp Nine - 78 mph
* Chilao - 76 mph
* Mill Creek - 75 mph
* Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. - 74 mph
* Las Vegas, Nev. - 62 mph* Roswell, N.M. - 59 mph
* Laramie, Wyo. - 56 mph
Source: accuweather.com