Wind advisory issued for Riverside and San Diego County

The National Weather Service (NWS) in San Diego has issued strong wind advisories for the mountains and deserts this afternoon through Monday night.

A Pacific trough moving inland across central California Monday will produce strong winds across the southern California mountains and deserts Monday afternoon through Monday night.

Riverside County mountains, San Diego County Mountains, Coachella Valley, and San Diego County deserts. The wind advisory in effect from noon today (Monday) to 3 pm Tuesday.

Winds will begin to increase Monday, intensifying before reaching their peak early Monday night. West winds will increase to 20 to 30 mph with gusts over 50 mph. Blowing dust and sand will reduce visibilities in the deserts at times.

The strong winds in the mountain passes and lower deserts will make driving hazardous for motorists with high profile vehicles. Affected roads and highways include I-10 and I-8, Highway 243 in Riverside County, and highways 78 and 79 in San Diego County. Areas impacted by the strong winds include Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Palm Desert, Borrego Springs, Pine Valley and Julian.

A wind advisory means that winds of 35 mph are expected. These winds can make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. The NWS recommends to use extra caution.