Wind advisory issued for most of Bay Area

Strong winds are expected in Sonoma County and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area through Saturday, with gusts up to 70 mph in places, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a wind advisory.

The weather service issued a high wind warning for the North Bay hills on Friday. The warning lasts through 11 a.m. Saturday.

The wind advisory, issued Thursday, covers the North Bay, East Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains and San Francisco Peninsula.

Winds are expected to reach 20 to 35 mph across most the Bay Area, excluding the South Bay, she said.

Gusts as strong as 50 to 70 mph are expected near Mount Tamalpais in Marin County and the hills around Cloverdale in Sonoma County, said Sarah McCorkle, a weather service meteorologist.

In Santa Rosa, winds will reach 30 to 40 mph and are expected to be the strongest early Saturday morning around 4 to 5 a.m., McCorkle said. They should die down by around noon.

McCorkle advised residents to be aware of fallen tree limbs, avoid downed power lines, secure loose objects outside and be careful driving high-profile vehicles.

If you see a downed power line, stay away from it and call 911 immediately. To report tree branches or limbs near power lines, call Pacific Gas & Electric at 1-800-743-5000.

There are no public safety outages planned due to the winds, according to Deanna Contreras, a PG&E spokesperson.

“We always ask our customers to be prepared for possible power outages, as part of your emergency plan, especially if you have medical equipment or medicines that are dependent on electricity,” Contreras said.

She added that people can find more information on how to prepare for emergencies at www.safetyactioncenter.pge.com.

See a map of projected winds gusts below:

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8511 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @alana_minkler.