Hundreds of thousands of people across interior Southern California were urged to stay away from windows Thursday as powerful winds tore across the region, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a high wind warning through 9 p.m. PST.
The powerful winds hitting Southern California are part of a broader winter storm sweeping across the state, bringing heavy mountain snow, steady rain at lower elevations and damaging gusts in the south. Higher terrain in the Sierra Nevada and coastal ranges is seeing several inches to feet of snow, while valleys and coastal communities continue to receive widespread rainfall. As the winter storm continues to batter the state, intense winds now impacting the Antelope Valley and interior mountain areas have prompted officials to warn residents to stay indoors, avoid windows and prepare for potential power outages.
The NWS office in Los Angeles issued the high wind warning at 11:09 a.m. PST Thursday. The alert covers the Antelope Valley, Cuyama Valley, interior San Luis Obispo County, the San Luis Obispo County Mountains and the Santa Barbara County Interior Mountains—areas that include Lancaster, Palmdale, Lake Los Angeles and several rural mountain communities…