A hard freeze warning was in effect in the Antelope Valley this morning as dry, windy conditions developed in the Southland, leading to an elevated risk of wildfire Thursday and Friday, forecasters said.
Several hours of freezing temperatures are expected this morning and Thursday morning in the Antelope Valley, where a hard freeze warning went into effect at 1 a.m. and was scheduled to expire at 9 a.m. It will go into effect tonight once again and last through Thursday morning. A hard freeze warning indicates that temperatures of 28 degrees Fahrenheit or less are expected for at least two consecutive hours.
Forecasters said the cold results in part from a cold air mass parked over the region and warned that hard freeze conditions threaten plants and animals, which should be taken indoors — a home for pets, a barn for domestic animals — to protect them against hypothermia. Additionally, “exposed pipes should be wrapped to keep them from freezing,” an NWS statement said.
Strong northeast Santa Ana winds are expected, NWS forecasters said, adding they will create warm, dry and windy conditions between today and SaA hard freeze warning was in effect in the Antelope Valley this morning as dry, windy conditions developed in the Southland, leading to an elevated risk of wildfire Thursday and Friday, forecasters said.turday.
Strong winds blew this morning in southern Santa Barbara County, the Santa Clarita Valley, and the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains in L.A and Ventura counties, but they were expected to diminish by daybreak today, according to NWS forecasters. Between this morning and Friday, 50 mile-per-hour gusts are expected, they said.
“Fire weather conditions will likely deteriorate between Wednesday (today) and Thursday and likely reach critical thresholds between Thursday and Friday as warm temperatures, strong winds and low humidities develop across Los Angeles and Ventura counties,” an NWS statement said.
The strongest expected winds will occur between Thursday night and Friday morning — a period when the humidity level is expected to drop to between 5 and 10 percent, it said.
A fire weather watch will be in force in much of the Greater Los Angeles area from Thursday afternoon through Friday afternoon. NWS forecasters warned they might upgrade it to a more serious red flag warning today or Thursday.
The NWS forecast sunny skies today and highs of 59 in Lancaster; 60 in Palmdale; 63 on Mount Wilson; 66 in Saugus; 70 at LAX, in Woodland Hills and in San Clemente; 71 in Pasadena, San Gabriel, Avalon and Long Beach; 72 in Burbank and Newport Beach; 73 in Laguna Beach; 75 in Anaheim and Fullerton; and 76 in Irvine, Yorba Linda and Mission Viejo.
Temperatures generally will be a few degrees higher Thursday and climb into the low 80s in some communities on Friday, remaining there Saturday, before they start to retreat. Sunshine is expected through Tuesday, except for Monday, when partly cloudy skies are forecast.
