Good afternoon. Southern California. I'm Aaron Jolly.

Alright, folks. If you stepped outside this morning and felt like someone turned on a giant fan, you weren't imagining it. We're in the middle of a wind event that's about to go from strong to downright aggressive.

In the next 24 hours. Right now. Greater Los Angeles sits at 75 degrees with north winds gusting to 15 miles an hour. San Diego's a bit cooler at 69 with northwest gusts hitting 25. But the Inland Empire? That's where things get real — 72 degrees with north winds howling at 20, gusting to 30. We're talking tree limbs down, power outages possible.

Tonight, temperatures crash fast under clear skies. Los Angeles drops to 50. San Diego cools to 51. The Inland Empire hits 49.

Friday brings sunshine but even fiercer winds. Highs reach 75 in Los Angeles, 73 in San Diego, 72 in the Inland Empire. Those northerly gusts could hit 35 miles an hour again.

Saturday is when this wind event peaks. A powerful Santa Ana setup develops with northeast winds gusting to 45 miles an hour across the mountains and Inland Empire. Patchy blowing dust mid-morning through mid-afternoon. Temperatures soar — Los Angeles hits 81. San Diego reaches 76, the Inland Empire climbs to 75. That combination of heat and dangerous winds creates critical fire weather conditions.

Sunday stays warm and windy. Highs jump to 86 in Los Angeles, 80 in San Diego, 83 in the Inland Empire. Winds finally ease Monday as temperatures moderate back to the 70s.

Secure loose outdoor items now. This weekend isn't the time to leave patio furniture unsupervised.

For the extended outlook, check the latest forecast as confidence improves.

That's your forecast — we'll be back tomorrow.