Southern California: Weak soil plus winds, bad combo

The powerful system that brought countless floods and damage to central and southern California enters the Rockies and the threats shifts for Southern California. Increasing winds and saturated soil, could topple trees and power lines.

While the large system that affected Southern California moves into the Sierra Nevada and the Rockies, some showers remain over parts of California, especially from San Francisco to Los Angeles and San Diego. For this Wednesday, some showers associated with another system entering over Oregon and northern California will increase the risk of showers for the northern and central California coast. Snowfall will focus on the highest region.

Now on to the wind, the coastal areas will be affected by the strongest winds. Gusts of more than 60 mph will be possible over the coast. The wind will be blowing from the north-northwest along the north and central coast, while for the southern area, the winds will be from the west-southwest and moving deeper inland.

Winds over 20 mph from San Luis Obispo to San Diego starting at noon. Over the inland mountains, sustained winds can reach 35 or 40 mph, with stronger gusts. The wind will continue to be strong during the afternoon, night and early morning on Thursday.

Winds will be the strongest over the San Bernardino, San Jacinto and Palomar mountains with gusts reaching 75 mph or even slightly higher during the afternoon and the evening.

The strong wind this time is especially concerning because many areas if not all of Southern California, have received heavy rain since Saturday night. Places like Los Angeles received more than 10 inches of rain in a period of 36 to 48 hours and like this city there are many others with similar situations. The land is very saturated by these rains and has been weakened. The wind can knock down more trees and power lines. So residents must pay attention and not let their guard down now that the rains are going to take a backseat.

Check how far the winds will reach using our WindRadar. We will continue monitoring this situation and the next system that will bring another round of showers on Thursday and isolated showers on Friday.