
The National Weather Service is reminding local boaters who plan to travel west of Santa Catalina Island that there’s a small craft advisory in effect, with winds in the outer waters gusting to 25 knots. The winds will last well into this evening, and pose a threat to people who want to go sportfishing in the outer waters. The winds will ease some on Saturday but will still gust to 20 knots at times, forecasters say. Conditions are comparatively mild on the seas between Orange County and Catalina. A low pressure system passed through overnight, dropping trace amounts of rain on parts of the county. Temperatures will rise to seasonal levels Saturday and Sunday (and maybe just above in some areas.) And the latest computer models contain a hint of potentially bad news. The weather service says, “A moderate to strong offshore flow (Santa Ana winds) is expected late Saturday night through Sunday with gusty northeast winds over the mountains, inland valleys and into Orange County.” Forecasters say the winds will gust to 30 mph inland and 15-20 at the county’s coast. The weather service is debating whether to issue a fire weather watch. (Santa Ana winds explained.)
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Garry, gusts to 30mph so that would be a moderate Santa Ana as opposed to a really strong one?
Hi. Gusts of 30 mph would fall into the moderate range. NWS is still reviewing the models on this system; it is possible that the winds will be stronger. And the relative humidity might be low. A red flag weather watch may be coming. Issue not decided yet.