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These winds are expected to pick up Thursday, which could make for difficult driving conditions and could cause more damage like we found in Merced Wednesday.
Strong wind gusts brought a decades old tree down. "It just fell," said Manuel Garcia. "I guess it was a big wind pick up and it took it down."
Garcia heard the tree as it came crashing down. We he went outside he found his fence had splintered under the massive tree's weight. A large section of the tree landed right on his roof. So, Garcia and his family members got to work - cutting that part of the tree into pieces.
"We don't want nothing like a domino effect," he said. "Like if the tree limb broke and then more of the top part might hit and crack the house."
Garcia said there was no damage to his roof, but he and his neighbor will have to replace their fence.
In other parts of Merced County, the wind made for a difficult drive along Highway 152 near Highway 33.
And in Firebaugh, the wind was gusting all evening. "It's pretty windy, I could feel the truck moving a little bit," Oswaldo Flores said after he drove to the gas station.
The California Highway Patrol and the National Weather Service both said to be extra careful in high profile vehicles. Both agencies said driving along Interstate 5 may be challenging through the Central Valley.
