[californiadisasters] Preparations Begin for Another Round of Wind

High winds are expected to whip across Southern California Thursday and Friday

By Jonathan Lloyd and Robert Kovacik | KNBC-TV Los Angeles

|  Thursday, Dec 22, 2011  |  Updated 8:12 AM PST

Winds knocked over a big rig early Thursday on a freeway transition road in San Bernardino County below the Cajon Pass. No injuries were reported.

"As it builds through the afternoon and overnight hours, the winds really pick up," said NBC4 forecast Byron Miranda.

In the Pasadena area, one of the hardest hit by the Nov. 30 storm, crews are still clearing debris from streets.

"Work crews are working in 12-hour shifts," said Ann Erdman, of the city of Pasadena. "They continue, night and day, to get the debris picked up. There has been tremendous progress made, but we have a ways to go."

The winds will create hazardous travel conditions for high-profile vehicles and increase the risk of wildfires.

During the Nov. 30 windstorm, gusts near 100 mph toppled trees and damaged power and traffic light poles. Nearly 650,000 homes and businesses lost power.

This time around, Southern California Edison plans to use Twitter and Facebook to post information on outages. The utility was criticized for its response to outages caused by the November storm.

Click here for information from LADWP.

Windy conditions are likely through Friday afternoon before calm conditions arrive for the holiday weekend.

Powerful and potentially damaging Santa Ana winds are expected to sweep through Southern California Thursday as some communities continue to clean debris left behind by the Nov. 30 wind storm.

Weather Images: Share Your Photos | Weather Page: Radar, Extended Forecast

"We have everything pinned down -- the Christmas decorations and everything," said Keith Johnson, of Pasadena, one of the areas hardest hit by last month's storm.

Winds picked up Thursday morning as cold, dry air from the western interior flowed toward the region. That air speeds up as it squeezes through mountain passes and canyons closer to the coast, creating the notorious Santa Ana winds.

Expect gusts to 60 mph with sustained winds between 25 and 40 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph were reported early Thursday in the Acton and Fontana areas.

Source: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/LA-Wind-Damage-Weather-Power-Outages-136064593.html?_osource=Newsletter-Daily

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