Winds follow ‘good start’ to rainy season

Gusty winds are expected to blow into Southern California this weekend after a storm that provided a “good start” to the rainy season, the National Weather Service said.

A weak set of Santa Ana winds is forecast to hit the mountains and valleys of Los Angeles and Ventura counties Friday with gusts of 25 to 35 mph, said weather service meteorologist Rich Thompson.

Low-level wind advisories are possible, with warnings to watch for debris and downed tree limbs.

Temperatures that were in the 60s and 70s across the region Friday will yield to a cooling trend kicking in Saturday.

With no precipitation on the horizon, Southern California will have to make do, for now, with the rain that fell earlier in the week.

“It was a very good earlyseason storm for us,” Thompson said, adding that some regions “got a pretty good soaking.”

Crystal Lake, in the Los Angeles County mountains, received more than 7 inches of rain during the storm.

Coastal and valley regions received 1.5 inches to 3 inches of rain. Downtown Los Angeles ended up with over 1.8 inches, and La Cañada-Flintridge received just under 3 inches.

The storm put parts of the region well ahead of normal for this point in the water year, which started Oct. 1.

As of Thursday, downtown L.A. had received 2 inches since Oct. 1. The normal for this point in the season is 0.73 of an inch, Thompson said. Burbank has gotten 1.53 inches, more than double the normal.