Oct 1 2013 Santa Ana Alert

Gusty Santa Ana winds will develop late Thursday night or early Friday morning and then persist through at least Saturday. The strongest winds are expected to occur from Friday morning through Saturday morning. During this time, the Los Angeles and Ventura County mountains could see gusts between 45 and 55 mph, with isolated gusts to 65 mph while coastal and valley areas will generally have gusts between 35 and 45 mph. The Santa Ana winds will bring significant warming and drying, with widespread and long durations of single digit humidities expected Friday into Saturday. The potential for critical fire weather conditions combined with very dry fuels has resulted in a Fire Weather Watch being posted for much of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties Thursday night into Saturday. During this time, there will be the potential for rapid fire growth along with extreme fire danger. While the offshore winds are expected to diminish somewhat on Sunday, elevated fire danger will continue due to very warm and dry conditions persisting.