Travel to turn dangerous from high winds in Southwest
By
Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Oct 12, 2021 5:40 AM EDT
When severe weather strikes it can bring strong winds along with it. If you’re not sure what to do when the wind picks up, check out this informative video.
Gusty winds are expected to blow through the Southwest early this week, threatening to rapidly spread already rampant wildfires and lift dust to turn travel dangerous.
"A potent storm tracking along the West coast and its associated frontal boundary continues to shift southward on Tuesday, strong widespread winds have developed across California and southern Nevada," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer.
Cities like Los Angeles, Fresno and Sacramento, California, as well as Las Vegas, were impacted by wind gusts ranging from 40 to 60 mph. These gusts, accompanied by cooler air, are expected to shift farther east across California and southern Nevada on Tuesday.
Higher gusts of 60 to 80 mph were reported across higher elevations of these areas and where winds were funneled, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 90 mph.
"These winds will cause difficult travel, blowing dust and the potential to rapidly spread area wildfires," explained Smithmyer.
This can be dangerous or even deadly in more ways than one. High crosswinds can make it difficult for drivers to maintain control while blowing dust will greatly reduce visibility on roads.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"In a situation like this, driving conditions will be hazardous as crosswinds could potentially reach speeds strong enough to topple tractor trailers," added Smithmyer, urging drivers of high-profile vehicles to take extreme caution during this event.
Due to these factors, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a high wind warning across parts of California, including in Fresno, Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton, Chico and Bakersfield. This warning covers parts of highways 5, 16, 33, 41, 80, 84, 99 and 180 and recommends that motorists should hold the steering wheel with both hands and slow down.
On Saturday, the NWS expanded the high wind watch to capture Palmdale, California; Kingman, Arizona; and Las Vegas. Wind advisories have also been issued for parts of coastal California, including San Francisco, San José and Salinas.
The highest winds have been clocked at the higher elevations, including a gust of 78 mph at Mammoth Mountain, as of Monday evening.
The winds will be significant and result in widespread travel disruptions, noted AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
In addition to the disruption to travel, they can cause downed trees and power outages. The NWS also warns residents to secure loose items like trash cans and Halloween decorations. Residents and visitors should charge their phones in preparation for power outages.
Furthermore, these high winds can fan wildfires across the region and cause them to spread out of control. Critical conditions are likely across most of the California Central Valley, according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).
"Due to the current drought situation across the Southwest U.S., the threat for wildfires is already elevated," said Smithmyer.
Over 45% of California is in exceptional drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor, with Nevada not too far behind, having about 25% in exceptional drought. San Francisco hasn't recorded any measurable rainfall since last March, and Las Vegas has received under 50% of average precipitation since the beginning of September.
Such severe drought conditions mean foliage is dry and brittle, which makes fuel for wildfires, unfortunately. As of early Monday morning, there were nine large active fires across California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, including the Windy Fire in Sequoia National Forest, which has burned over 97,554 acres and is 88% contained.
This image, captured Monday morning, local time, shows the high wind watches (dark brown), wind advisories (light brown), fire weather watches (beige) and red flag warnings (red) in effect across the Southwest. Gale warnings are depicted as magenta with freeze watches in purple. (NWS/AccuWeather)
A Red Flag Warning was put in effect in places like Redding, Lakeport, Ukiah and Blue Canyon, California, to prepare residents for the potential rapid spread of fires. Outdoor burning is not recommended, according to the NWS.
Cold air accompanying the high winds can shove temperatures anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below normal across the region on Tuesday, particularly away from the coast. High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 60s to lower 70s across much of the region. Lows can even dip into the middle 40s in places, challenging records.
A silver lining to this high wind event is that any pervasive smoke from wildfires that has been sitting across the region is expected to get whisked away as the winds roll through.
Beginning Monday night and by Wednesday, much of the high winds will be moving eastward through the eastern Rockies and Plains, and conditions are anticipated to calm a bit across California and Nevada.
As winds continue to gust across cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico; Lubbock, Texas; Denver; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Cheyenne, Wyoming; through Tuesday, travel disruptions and blowing dust are likely to continue in these areas.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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News / Severe Weather
Travel to turn dangerous from high winds in Southwest
By Jessica Storm, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Updated Oct 12, 2021 5:40 AM EDT
When severe weather strikes it can bring strong winds along with it. If you’re not sure what to do when the wind picks up, check out this informative video.
Gusty winds are expected to blow through the Southwest early this week, threatening to rapidly spread already rampant wildfires and lift dust to turn travel dangerous.
"A potent storm tracking along the West coast and its associated frontal boundary continues to shift southward on Tuesday, strong widespread winds have developed across California and southern Nevada," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Alyssa Smithmyer.
Cities like Los Angeles, Fresno and Sacramento, California, as well as Las Vegas, were impacted by wind gusts ranging from 40 to 60 mph. These gusts, accompanied by cooler air, are expected to shift farther east across California and southern Nevada on Tuesday.
Higher gusts of 60 to 80 mph were reported across higher elevations of these areas and where winds were funneled, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 90 mph.
"These winds will cause difficult travel, blowing dust and the potential to rapidly spread area wildfires," explained Smithmyer.
This can be dangerous or even deadly in more ways than one. High crosswinds can make it difficult for drivers to maintain control while blowing dust will greatly reduce visibility on roads.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
"In a situation like this, driving conditions will be hazardous as crosswinds could potentially reach speeds strong enough to topple tractor trailers," added Smithmyer, urging drivers of high-profile vehicles to take extreme caution during this event.
Due to these factors, the National Weather Service (NWS) issued a high wind warning across parts of California, including in Fresno, Sacramento, Modesto, Stockton, Chico and Bakersfield. This warning covers parts of highways 5, 16, 33, 41, 80, 84, 99 and 180 and recommends that motorists should hold the steering wheel with both hands and slow down.
On Saturday, the NWS expanded the high wind watch to capture Palmdale, California; Kingman, Arizona; and Las Vegas. Wind advisories have also been issued for parts of coastal California, including San Francisco, San José and Salinas.
The highest winds have been clocked at the higher elevations, including a gust of 78 mph at Mammoth Mountain, as of Monday evening.
The winds will be significant and result in widespread travel disruptions, noted AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter.
In addition to the disruption to travel, they can cause downed trees and power outages. The NWS also warns residents to secure loose items like trash cans and Halloween decorations. Residents and visitors should charge their phones in preparation for power outages.
Furthermore, these high winds can fan wildfires across the region and cause them to spread out of control. Critical conditions are likely across most of the California Central Valley, according to the Storm Prediction Center (SPC).
"Due to the current drought situation across the Southwest U.S., the threat for wildfires is already elevated," said Smithmyer.
Over 45% of California is in exceptional drought, according to the United States Drought Monitor, with Nevada not too far behind, having about 25% in exceptional drought. San Francisco hasn't recorded any measurable rainfall since last March, and Las Vegas has received under 50% of average precipitation since the beginning of September.
Such severe drought conditions mean foliage is dry and brittle, which makes fuel for wildfires, unfortunately. As of early Monday morning, there were nine large active fires across California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, including the Windy Fire in Sequoia National Forest, which has burned over 97,554 acres and is 88% contained.
This image, captured Monday morning, local time, shows the high wind watches (dark brown), wind advisories (light brown), fire weather watches (beige) and red flag warnings (red) in effect across the Southwest. Gale warnings are depicted as magenta with freeze watches in purple. (NWS/AccuWeather)
A Red Flag Warning was put in effect in places like Redding, Lakeport, Ukiah and Blue Canyon, California, to prepare residents for the potential rapid spread of fires. Outdoor burning is not recommended, according to the NWS.
Cold air accompanying the high winds can shove temperatures anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit below normal across the region on Tuesday, particularly away from the coast. High temperatures are forecast to be in the upper 60s to lower 70s across much of the region. Lows can even dip into the middle 40s in places, challenging records.
A silver lining to this high wind event is that any pervasive smoke from wildfires that has been sitting across the region is expected to get whisked away as the winds roll through.
Beginning Monday night and by Wednesday, much of the high winds will be moving eastward through the eastern Rockies and Plains, and conditions are anticipated to calm a bit across California and Nevada.
As winds continue to gust across cities like Albuquerque, New Mexico; Lubbock, Texas; Denver; Oklahoma City; Kansas City, Missouri; Omaha, Nebraska; Rapid City, South Dakota; and Cheyenne, Wyoming; through Tuesday, travel disruptions and blowing dust are likely to continue in these areas.
In other news:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, DIRECTVstream, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeatherNOW is streaming on Roku and XUMO.
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