Wind whips through
Temps drop, some APS customers lose power
Windy conditions dominated Yuma’s weather Monday, leading to low temperatures and visibility but causing little reported damage.
National Weather Service meteorologist James Sawtelle from the Phoenix office said that around noon the strong cold front responsible for the low air pressure had already pushed past Yuma.
“The winds were strong both ahead and behind the cold front,” he said.
The fastest wind gusts of 38 to 40 mph were recorded from about 11 to 11:30 a.m. Monday. Sawtelle said winds would remain heavy throughout the afternoon before slowly abating over the evening hours, and getting down to 5 mph by early today.
Temperatures are predicted to stay below normal this week, he said, with today’s high only reaching 60 degrees (versus the average of 75) and the low hitting 39.
Today is expected to lead to a high of 63 degrees on Wednesday and 66 on Thursday, up to 67 for Friday and into the low 70s for the weekend. “It doesn’t look like you guys will be hitting the 75 until at least next Monday,” she said.
A total of 68 APS customers lost power about 10 a.m. Monday morning, spokeswoman Jill Hanks said, with all but six of them back online at 11:30 a.m., and the rest brought back a couple of hours later.
The affected accounts were in the areas of Levee Road to Gila Ridge Road, and from Atlantic Avenue to U.S. 95, she said.
Hanks said the outages could have been caused by wind, but crews on the scene didn’t see any visible evidence to back that
up.
“Sometimes it happens when the power lines slap together, but there won’t necessarily be any damage we can see,” she said.
Mike Erfert, spokesman for the Yuma Fire Department, said there was one report received of a power pole down in the 2200 block of East San Marcos Lane, but no further information was received. He said no dust- or power outage-related false alarms, commonly seen in windy weather, had been reported either.
A gradual warming trend is expected throughout the rest of the week, with occasional bouts of breezy or windy conditions, though not as severe as Monday’s. “On Friday, there may be a stronger system that’s going to come through. So it kind of looks like you’ll have some periodically breezy days, like Wednesday will be pretty breezy, and then again on Thursday. And then Friday could get rather windy again,” Sawtelle said.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality issued a high pollution advisory effective Monday for PM-10 (dust) pollution in the Yuma area, and added that elevated dust levels could continue into this morning.
Dust pollution was not expected to get above the federal maximum level today, but those who are unusually sensitive to particulate pollution should consider avoiding prolonged outdoor activity, according to ADEQ.