Winds Expected to Make Way for Warm Christmas

The weather outside is gusty.

At least that the prediction of meteorologists, who said winds peaking at about 70 mph are expected today below canyons and passes in the San Fernando Valley.

“We’re looking at some pretty gusty Santa Ana winds, starting Tuesday night and continuing into Wednesday,” meteorologist Stacey Johnstone said Tuesday. Johnstone, who is with WeatherData, the company that does weather forecasting for The Times, said the winds are classic Santa Anas.

“They will be weakening Wednesday afternoon, and then the weather should be nice through the weekend.”

Neither the dry Santa Ana winds nor the warm weather the Valley has been having for the last several days is unusual for this time of year, Johnstone said.

“Temperatures have been running a bit above normal, but not that much,” she said.

High temperatures in the Valley are forecast in the low to mid-70s today and in the mid-60s to low-70s Thursday through the weekend. “It should be beautiful for the holiday weekend,” she said.

The warm, dry weather has nothing to do with La Nina, Johnstone said, but is caused by the position of two high pressure systems. A surface system over the Pacific Northwest is causing winds to come from the northeast, thus preventing cooler ocean air from coming ashore.

The other is ridge of high pressure hovering over the Western U.S. “Any front that might give you some moisture rides up and over that ridge and misses you,” Johnstone said.