In the midst of the blustery and blasting winds late Friday night into Saturday, an earthquake occurred.
Shortly before 3 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 24, a 2.4-magnitude earthquake occurred between Idyllwild and Mountain Center. No injuries or damage were reported after the quake.
The tremor was located about 2 miles south/southwest of Idyllwild and 9 miles east/southeast of Valle Vista, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The Santa Ana winds this weekend were unusually strong. The highest speeds recorded were 89 miles per hour at Sill Hill in the San Diego County mountains and 85 mph at Big Black Mountain, also in San Diego County. The winds tended to be stronger to the south. Nine sites recorded wind speeds greater than 60 mph in San Diego County.
On the Hill, a 52-mph gust blew through Idyllwild and Pine Cove near 2 a.m. Saturday morning. Later in the morning, a 56-mph burst was recorded at Poppet Flats. The Mountain Center and Keenwild sites felt winds about 45 mph Saturday morning, too.
On Monday, about .13 inches of rain fell in Idyllwild and slightly more (.18 inches) in Pine Cove. For the month, the Hill has received less than an inch of rain, which is substantially less than the long-term average rainfall of nearly 5 inches in January.