Catastrophic Santa Ana winds are fueling devasting and deadly wildfires burning in the Los Angeles area where peak gusts have reached up to 100mph. Locally the strongest wind gust was clocked at Palomar Mountain at 81mph. Click here to see more local wind gusts.
While the winds are easing now and will continue to be calmer and more localized into Thursday morning, winds build again tomorrow afternoon into Friday morning, keeping fire danger high.
The Red Flag Warning has been extended until 6pm Friday inland to the mountains for these gusty winds and low humidity. Tonight into Thursday morning isolated winds gusts may reach up to 30mph, as we transition to the afternoon and evening the wind picks up and will be nearly as strong as what we felt early this morning.
Expect widespread gusts of 25 to 50mph inland to the mountains with peak gusts of 50 to 75mph for the typically windier spots like Alpine and along the I-8 corridor through the mountains, Hellhole Canyon, Sill Hill and Big Black Mountain and isolated higher gusts. On top of the wind, humidity levels will remain between 5 to 15%, containing to dry out the already critically dry brush.
The High Wind Warning for the inland and mountain communities has also been extended, until 2pm Friday. Pay attention to your surroundings as downed trees and power lines will be a concern.
Any fires that start will be difficult to control and will spread quickly, so be extra vigilant with fire safety this week. This includes checking your vehicle for anything that's dragging that could spark a fire.
The sea breeze briefly returns Friday night into Saturday before another round of weaker Santa Ana winds overnight Saturday into Sunday. A potentially moderate Santa Ana wind event is possible Monday night into early Wednesday, peaking Tuesday.
Temperatures will remain several degrees warmer than normal for the coast and valleys with 60s and 70s, seasonably cool in the mountains in the 50s and 40s in the afternoons and 30s each morning and highs near 70 in the deserts. Minor cooling next week.
We are officially in a drought in San Diego and seeing the driest start to the water year, which began on October 1st. San Diego, records kept at Lindbergh Field, has only seen .14" of rain since October 1st and only .16" since July 1st! All of Southern California is seeing one of the driest starts to the rainy season on record. December and January are the peak of Santa Ana season, but usually, we've seen rain, and the threat of fires is minimal. Without rain each Santa Ana wind event will dry the brush even more and bring the threat of fires to spread quickly. Santa Ana season goes through February and can even linger into March.
Be prepared by clearing defensible space away from your home, going over your evacuation plan with your household, and having your emergency go-kit ready, including any medicine you need, extra supplies, and food for your kids and pets.
Thursday's Highs:
Coast: 65-73°
Inland: 72-76°
Mountains: 52-65°
Deserts: 71-74°
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