Heavy winds, air quality alert in Coachella Valley: See latest wind speeds and forecast
With strong winds creating dusty conditions in the Coachella Valley, environmental officials have issued an air quality alert through 7 a.m. Sunday.
What does the alert say?
The alert from the South Coast Air Quality Management District warns that the strong winds are producing blowing dust that contains harmful particles, which can cause various respiratory issues when inhaled. It states that people in areas with high particle levels should protect themselves by staying indoors as much as possible and avoiding the use of fans and air conditioners that bring in air from the outside.
How can I check the current air quality?
The South Coast AQMD website, aqmd.gov, includes an air quality map that is searchable by address and updated hourly.
What is the air quality in the Coachella Valley?
As of 11:45 a.m. Saturday, the map showed the air rated as “unhealthy for sensitive groups” across a large diagonal swath of the Coachella Valley extending from Thousand Palms through Palm Desert and Indio to the Salton Sea. Much of the rest of the valley was rated “moderate” with small sections at the far west and east ends rated “good.”
How windy has it been?
The strongest winds in the Coachella Valley Saturday morning were in Whitewater, where the National Weather Service recorded gusts consistently above 60 mph and two instances of 67 mph gusts. A peak gust of 40 mph was recorded at the Boyd Canyon weather station in Palm Desert early Saturday morning, while one of 35 mph was recorded at Palm Springs International Airport just after 11 a.m.
Multiple gusts of 29 mph were also recorded Saturday morning at Thermal’s airport.
What is the upcoming forecast?
While the air quality alert so far extends only through Sunday morning, the recent strong winds are expected to continue for much of the day in parts of the valley and beyond.
As usual, the most powerful winds will be centered on San Gorgonio Pass, where winds of 35 mph and gusts of up to 55 mph are expected on Saturday before they gradually decrease on Sunday and Monday.
However, conditions are expected to be relatively breezy around the pass for the foreseeable future, according to the National Weather Service.
In the rest of the valley east and south of the pass, the winds are expected to be in the 10 to 20 mph range with gusts of up to 30 mph on Saturday and Sunday. However, the winds are expected to die down on Monday ahead of a calmer week with daily highs of around 100 degrees.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers growth, development and business in the Coachella Valley. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Windy, dusty Saturday in Palm Springs area: See wind speeds, forecast
