Santa Ana winds threaten Los Angeles area with hurricane-force gusts of 75-90 mph

High Wind Warnings are spread across parts of the Los Angeles area as powerful Santa Ana winds bring gusts up to 70-75 mph in Orange County and even higher gusts in the surrounding mountains and their foothills.

 California is returning to a dry, warmer break in the weather Thursday, but that comes with a moderate to strong Santa Ana wind event that could lead to damaging winds gusting 75-90 mph in areas.

The National Weather Service has much of the state in a checkerboard of Wind Advisories and High Wind Warnings that last through Friday morning.

(FOX Weather)

"Damaging winds will blow down trees," the NWS said in its High Wind Warning. "Travel will be difficult, especially for high-profile vehicles. The strongest winds will occur from before sunrise on Thursday into Thursday morning."

The NWS also warned that people should be aware of blowing debris or fallen trees and branches.

(FOX Weather)

"When driving, reduce your speed and be extremely cautious," the NWS continued. "If you encounter fallen electrical wires, do not exit your vehicle."

WHAT ARE THE SANTA ANA WINDS?

Gusts reaching 75-90 mph in parts of Los Angeles area

Northeast winds of 30-45 mph with gusts as high as 70-75 mph are expected in Orange County, including Anaheim, Newport Beach and Fullerton; across the Inland Empire, San Bernardino and Riverside County mountains, and the valleys and passes through coastal mountains.

"Isolated gusts to 90 mph for inland Orange County below the coastal slopes of the Santa Ana Mountains and near and below the Cajon Pass (are expected)," the NWS office in San Diego posted.

Forecasts show wind-prone passes and canyons could reach up to Category 2-hurricane-force gusts.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

The FOX Model shows winds gusting 50-60 mph over wide stretches of Los Angeles and Orange Counties Thursday morning.

(FOX Weather)

Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area will be spared the worst winds, but will still see gusts to 45-60 mph in the higher hills, according to the NWS. Death Valley is in for gusts to 70 mph and Yosemite National Park to 65 mph. The ridges across the Sierra Nevada should brace for gusts over 100 mph.

What's with the change?

After a soggy start to March with storm after storm, high pressure is finally setting up off the coast. This will block any threatening storms. At the same time, a chunk of energy gets separated from the jet stream and parks itself over the Desert Southwest. This is called a cutoff low. The low is bringing colder, denser air into the interior, increasing surface pressures and that difference in pressure between the interior and coastal Southern California is the driving force for the strong wind. 

The strong dry winds usually present a high fire risk, but the parade of recent storms dropped enough rain to hopefully keep any sparks in check.

The cutoff low finally drifts farther south Friday, allowing the winds to diminish. Lighter offshore winds will continue through the weekend, though, warming daytime highs 5-10 degrees above normal for this time of year.