For Angelenos heading to the beach, this weekend looks gentle. Push inland, and the forecast turns sharply more hazardous.
Mild at the coast, gusty and dry inland
Coastal communities are expected to stay near 70 degrees with a chance of morning drizzle before the sun breaks through, while the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys reach the mid-70s, ABC7 reported, citing the National Weather Service. The deserts are a different world: Palm Springs is forecast to approach 99 degrees, and a string of wind advisories blankets the high desert and mountain passes.
Where the wind is blowing
The National Weather Service posted wind advisories across a wide arc of the region heading into Sunday, according to the agency's active alerts. Among the strongest, the San Gorgonio Pass near Banning faced west winds of 35 to 45 mph with gusts toward 70 mph — the kind of channeled wind that routinely buffets Interstate 10 and topples high-profile vehicles. Advisories also covered the Antelope Valley, the Apple and Lucerne valleys, the San Diego County deserts and the Santa Barbara County coast, generally calling for 20-to-35-mph winds with gusts of 50 to 60 mph.
The NWS warns that such winds can blow down tree limbs and toss unsecured objects — and, in dry brush, help a new fire run.
The fire-weather concern
The sharpest fire-weather worry centered inland, where the NWS flagged very low humidity — in the teens to low-30s in spots — combined with strong gusts. "Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly," the agency cautioned in its fire-weather messaging. Conditions were expected to turn cloudier by Sunday, which could bring some relief, though forecasters said the broader holiday-week pattern remained uncertain.
A timely reminder before July 4
The warnings land with the Fourth of July just days away. Fire officials and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have urged residents to confirm whether consumer fireworks are even legal where they live — most incorporated cities and all unincorporated county areas in the region ban them outright — and note that illegal fireworks are among the leading human-caused ignitions during the holiday.
Even where winds ease before the weekend, brush dried out by this stretch of low humidity will stay primed to burn. Residents in mountain and high-desert communities — Wrightwood, Big Bear, Victorville, Palmdale and Lancaster among them — should check the latest NWS forecasts, which are updated through the day, before heading out.
