Expanded wind advisory goes into effect for much of San Francisco Bay Area

An expanded wind advisory went into effect early Wednesday evening covering a large swath of the North, East and South Bay, warning of wind gusts as high as 60 mph.

Initially issued Tuesday afternoon for the North Bay interior mountains, East Bay hills and Eastern Santa Clara hills, by evening the National Weather Service had expanded the advisory to include the Santa Cruz Mountains and Marin Coastal Range.

KPIX Chief Meteorologist Paul Heggen described the situation as a "disruptive, not dangerous" scenario. Gusts in the valleys where most Bay Area residents live will be in the 30-40 mph range through midday Friday, with gusts in the higher elevations potentially above 50 mph.  

For the mountains and hills, the advisory went into effect at 5 p.m. and will remain in place until late Friday morning at 11 a.m. For Bay Area valleys impacted, it will go into effect at 10 p.m. Wednesday and expire at 5 p.m. Thursday.  

Higher elevations can expect N to NE winds in the 20-30 mph range with gusts up to 60 mph, officials said.

Lower elevations of the North Bay and East Bay interior valleys will see less powerful winds ranging from 15-25 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.

There is also a high wind warning further east in the Sierra, NWS officials said.

Possible impacts include possible downed trees and branches, isolated power outages and difficulties driving high-profile vehicles.  

In:
• Wind Advisory