>> WIND GUSTS OF 102 MPH MAKE FIGHT THAT MUCH TOUGHER.

Another round expected in region Tuesday

The highly anticipated Diablo winds roared through Wine Country and parts of the Bay Area early Sunday, knocking down trees and causing havoc that resulted in power outages across the Bay Area that confounded Cal Fire’s efforts to control the Kincade Fire in Sonoma County.

Peak gusts overnight reached 87 mph at Mount Saint Helena, 61 mph at Mount Diablo, 53 mph in Petaluma and 52 mph in the Santa Cruz mountains, according to the National Weather Service Bay Area.

At about 6 a.m. Sunday, the weather service recorded a peak gust of 93 mph in the hills north of Healdsburg —one of the Sonoma County towns threatened by the Kincade fire. After a short nap, a weary meteorologist tweeted he woke up two hours later to see gusts nearby reach 102 mph.

The extraordinary winds led Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a statewide emergency.

The powerful winds are part of the phenomenon called the Diablo winds.

Instead of coming from the shore, these winds blow out to sea.

The reversal in wind direction, which typically occurs in the fall, causes extremely dry air conditions.

Although the speeds are not unheard of, the duration is, according to Steve

Anderson, a meteorologist with the weather service.

During California’s two deadliest wildfires in 2017, wind gusts reached 92 mph but lasted only four to six hours. By comparison, the high winds this time around are expected to last 24 to 30 hours, Anderson said.

“The critical fire weather will continue throughout that period, and with wind speeds that high, there’s really not a whole lot to be done other than to just get out of the way,” he said Sunday morning.

While the wind gusts in the North Bay reached hurricane like speeds, they came in much smaller spurts. Hurricane-force winds are defined as sustained winds of at least 74 mph lasting at least a minute.

In the Bay Area, high winds downed trees that damaged cars, homes and power lines and caused injuries. In Berkeley and Concord, large uprooted trees blocked roads. In Fremont, a carport was blown off its foundation. And in Martinez, nine people were hurt when winds knocked over a tree at a morning farmers market.

A high-wind advisory and red flag warning will remain in effect in Sonoma County and most of the higher elevations of the Bay Area until 11 a.m. today.

But that won’t be the end of it.

Another round of offshore winds is expected to hit the region Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

“It won’t be as strong,” Anderson said, “but any dry, offshore winds are not good news when you have an active fire.”