Just a Blowhard Wind
Heavy winds raised ocean whitecaps, jangled power lines and spread debris across county roadways Friday, but emergency crews, harbor patrols and airport traffic monitors reported few troubles as a result.
With winds gusting between 20 and 30 mph in portions of Orange County, particularly through the Santa Ana Mountains, officials posted warnings along the mountains, coastal waters, and in the Windy Ridge area of the Foothill Toll Road, several miles south of the Riverside Freeway.
The winds, which interrupted power in parts of Anaheim and Garden Grove on Friday, were predicted to continue through this morning and taper off by afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
At John Wayne Airport, Santa Ana winds forced all planes to switch takeoff and landing directions. Instead of rising to the southwest and over the ocean, planes took off into the wind for increased lift, and climbed to the northeast, said airport spokeswoman Ann Gill McCarley.
In Newport and Dana Point harbors, gusts kept red, small craft warning flags flapping, but there were no reported difficulties.
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