Winds will whip up and humidity levels will drop throughout the Southern California region this week, elevating the risk for wildfires.
Gusts could reach up to 80 miles per hour in Los Angeles and Ventura counties as winds intensify Tuesday into Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
“Scattered downed trees and power outages are likely, in addition to rapid fire growth and extreme behavior with any fire starts,” the weather service office added.
Closer to San Diego, the humidity will be slightly higher, but still dangerous. Portions of San Diego County have reportedly seen the driest start to the season — and driest nine-month period overall — in more than 150 years.
The model guidance is also showing a more significant drying trend, especially for lower elevations on Tuesday,” the NWS said.
Santa Ana winds & low humidity arrive mid-week per the @NWSSanDiego Be prepared! Visit t.co/ifiKRm3XiT for the Ready, Set, Go! doc which has valuable info. Create an emergency plan & practice the plan with household members. Sign up for alerts – t.co/xtsVKsGWPR pic.twitter.com/CiSzbibHZj
— SDFD (@SDFD) January 6, 2025The “extreme precipitation disparity” between the northern and southern parts of the state is expected to persist throughout the winter, according to Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with the University of California, Los Angeles and the National Center for Atmospheric Research.
“Given the recent trends, periods of critical fire weather conditions are expected Tuesday. Northeast winds are expected to arrive in San Diego county later in the day Tuesday.”
Areas where gusts blowing across tinder-dry vegetation could create “extreme fire conditions” include the charred footprint of last month’s wind-driven Franklin Fire, which damaged or destroyed 48 structures, mostly homes, in and around Malibu.
The blaze was one of nearly 8,000 wildfires that scorched more than a million acres in California last year.
Recent dry winds, including Santa Anas, have contributed to warmer-than-average temperatures in Southern California, where there has been very little rain so far this season. Meanwhile, the northern part of the state has seen multiple drenching storms so far this season.
Southern California has not seen more than 0.1 inches of rain since early May. Much of the region has fallen into moderate drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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