Santa Anas, Warm Weather to Return

Santa Ana winds will return tonight to the San Fernando Valley, but the gusts likely will not be as intense as those two weeks ago that downed large tree branches and scattered debris, forecasters said Sunday.

“The local gusts will be about 45 mph, which is not too bad, especially compared to what you had in March,” said meteorologist Stacey Johnstone of WeatherData, which provides weather forecasts for The Times.

Not surprisingly, the onset of the Santa Anas also will bring higher temperatures.

“You will probably get into the upper 80s on Tuesday and Wednesday,” Johnstone said.

The warm, dry weather is being brought to the area by an upper-atmosphere ridge of high pressure, Johnstone said, that prevents cooler air fronts from moving in the Pacific Ocean.

Temperatures might moderate as soon as Thursday though. “A low-pressure system will try and move in, and that will bring cooler air,” Johnstone said. “Until then, it’s going to be warm.”