The National Weather Service issued a Wind Advisory for Santa Barbara County with gusts up to 60 mph forecast Monday afternoon in the South Coast hills.
The advisory will be in effect until 6 a.m. Tuesday for the South Coast, and the Santa Ynez, Lompoc and Santa Maria valleys.
Northwest winds of 15-30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph were expected, with higher gusts possible.
“Gusty winds will blow around unsecured objects and make driving difficult, especially for high profile vehicles. This includes Highways 101, 154 and 192 as well as the Gaviota and San Marcos passes. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result,” the NWS said in its advisory.
PG&E implemented public safety power shutoffs Monday in northern SLO County, but none in Santa Barbara County as of 1:30 p.m.
A PSPS was being considered for the Santa Ynez Valley on Monday, and for the area between Tepusquet Road and Buckhorn Ridge Road near Highway 166, according to the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management.
Southern California Edison had public safety power shutoffs being considered for thousands of customers in Ventura, Kern and Los Angeles counties as of Monday afternoon.
Click here for PSPS information from PG&E.
Click here for PSPS information from Southern California Edison.
The NWS also issued a High Surf Advisory for northwest-facing beaches in San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties with large breaking waves and rip currents forecast until 8 a.m. Tuesday.
High winds and blowing dust was affecting air quality across the state Monday.
Check Santa Barbara County’s real-time air quality from the Air Pollution Control District here. Moderate air quality was reported in Santa Maria and Lompoc as of 1:30 p.m. Monday.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.