ORANGE, Calif. (KABC) — It’s another breezy day in Southern California. The Santa Ana winds have officially returned and they’re expected to gust through the weekend.
A wind advisory across Orange County is in effect until Sunday night.
Miguel Aguilar is a tow truck driver in the Villa Park area and said winds were noticeable Friday morning, and after doing this job for 10 years, he’s aware of the impact wind events have on the roads.
“This is a big truck. It’s high, so as high as it is, we feel it stronger,” Aguilar said. “We have to be careful and take care of each other on the road.”
In Moreno Valley, winds were howling there too and the winds are expected to intensify this weekend. Parts of San Bernardino and Riverside counties, inland Orange County and the Santa Ana Mountains and foothills can see gusts of up to 50 mph.
Isolated gusts of up to 65 mph are also in the forecast.
Scott Epstein, South Coast Air Quality Management District Assessment Manager, warns of a windblown dust advisory, recommending that as residents brace for a windy weekend, they check air quality levels — and if they become unhealthy, limit time outdoors.
“We’re expecting to see pretty widespread dust levels in the Coachella Valley, throughout the Inland Empire and even into Orange County,” Epstein said. “People that are especially susceptible to the impacts of air quality are the elderly, young children, pregnant women and people that have preexisting conditions. They can be especially impacted. But everybody can have health impacts from breathing in polluted air.”
You can monitor real-time air quality data on AQMD’s website, but they caution, even if your area looks to be healthy, some particles are too large to be detected by their system. So if you go outside and you physically see particles in the air, that’s a really good sign that you should take precautions.
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