Strong, damaging winds began Sunday night over parts of Northern and Central California and are expected to last until Wednesday.
Strong wind warnings are in effect for more than 30 million people from Northern Central California to Southern California.
A strong area of high pressure will build up in the Northwest on Monday, and this area of high pressure will move to the Great Basin by Tuesday. As this high-pressure area builds, a low-pressure area will develop on the southern coast of California.
The proximity and strength of the two systems are important. This is known as the pressure gradient, which is expected to be quite strong and will cause these intense winds to develop early this week.
Winds flow from high pressure areas to low pressure areas, so in this case the winds for this event are expected to be foreign winds as the wind moves from land to sea. Locally in different parts of California, these wind events are referred to as’ ‘Diablo winds’,’ Mono winds’ or ‘Santa Ana winds’.
Timing
Areas in Northern and Central California are experiencing this strong wind, which will last until Tuesday.
The strongest winds in Northern and Central California are expected to develop Monday night through Tuesday morning.
The strongest wind in Southern California is expected on Tuesday.
These strong winds could lead to flat trees and power lines, power outages and possible widespread critical weather conditions in most of the state.
Fire brigade
Typical fire conditions in areas of Southern California are fueled by a combination of above-average temperatures, low humidity values, dry vegetation and strong winds. The evolving low pressure on the Southern California coast may limit some of these factors, leading to cooler temperatures and higher humidity values. As a result, fire conditions may be somewhat limited earlier this week.
However, many places in Southern California, including Los Angeles, have not seen any measurable rain since the end of December, meaning the vegetation in the region has had more than two weeks to dry out.
Southern California has also had record heat over the past few days, in addition to the growing drought in the region.
Taking into account dry vegetation, drought conditions and strong winds, only one spark is needed for a fire to start and spread quickly. The Storm Prediction Center in particular did not rule out the chance for critical fire conditions, especially on Monday.
The SPCA also said these humidity values could drop in some places in the teens due to downwind winds – dry winds flowing from east to west through mountain passes in California – which could lead to a few hours of critical fire conditions on Monday. noon.
However, this low-pressure area will bring much-needed rain and snow in parts of the southwest over the next few days, which will help reduce the widespread drought conditions in the region.