Katabatic Winds Drive the Palisades and Eaton Fires: The Effects of the Santa Ana Winds on the Inland Empire

The Santa Ana winds — dry, gusty winds that blow toward the coast — have fueled the fires in Southern California this week. They are relatively common in the region, but meteorologists say the current strength is abnormal.

The two largest blazes — the Palisades and Eaton Fires — have consumed more than 10,000 acres each and prompted mandatory evacuations for almost 70,000 people as of Wednesday. 58,000 people have been warned to be prepared to leave.

When it comes to the impact of Santa Ana winds on frequencies and intensities, Ting is circumspect. She says she isn’t sure. “I think more importantly in this case, if you wanted to say anything about the role [that] global climate change plays, is the dryness in the region.”

With the high pressure that develops over the region coupled with the lower pressure down over southern California, it creates a strong flow of air that makes its way out to the Inland Empire area.

The winds are known as katabatic, meaning they flow downhill, and that’s the key characteristic, according to a professor at the Columbia University Climate School.

As the air mass drops in altitude, it compresses and heats up — by about 10 degrees Celsius per kilometer (18 degrees Fahrenheit per 0.6 of a mile). It’s a “very effective way of warming up the air,” she says.

She thinks that the air warms up as it becomes humid. It travels through narrow mountain passes in a similar fashion to when air passes through a tunnel or the wind moves between buildings.

The result is wind gusts as high as 100 mph in some places, he says, adding that the current dry conditions mean, “everything is just primed and ready to go” for wildfires.

“Obviously, we’ve got a zillion cars in the area. “If one breaks down and someone pulls over next to an area with some dry brush, that can kick it off,” he says.

Climate Change is Explaining the Extreme Weather and Climate Change Effects on Wildfires in Southern California: A Two-Year Progress Report from Williams

Park Williams, a professor of geography who heads the HyFiVeS Research Group (Hydroclimate, Fire, Vegetation, and Society) at UCLA describes the current scenario as a “highly improbable sequence of extreme climate and weather events over the past two years.”

Climate change is increasing the risk of late- or early-season wildfires in California. This is a particularly strong wind event, but it also is a particularly dry season in the beginning of January. One of the driest periods on record occurred during the wet season in Southern California, which runs from October through April. The overlap between the dry and wind seasons is increasing as the precipitation is more variable due to climate change. Trudeau says that they’re seeing a lot of hot, dry, windy days in Southern California.

What role might climate change play? The rapid spread of wildfires can be a result of a hotter atmosphere due to climate change.

However, these winds are a lot stronger than usual because of a dip in the jet stream near the Baja Peninsula in northwestern Mexico, Moreland explains. Winds that are usually relegated to higher elevations are reaching lower terrain areas. “Every so many decades, we do get wind events of this magnitude,” he says.

The Los Angeles Fire Department says Fires are Emerging from an Outburst of the Sunset Fire on Hollywood Boulevard During the Fourth and Fourth Saturday Nights

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said more than 7,500 personnel are responding to the fires across local, state and federal agencies. They are using a lot of equipment to fight the fires.

“We just finished cleaning up from the Rose Parade of all things, and now this,” she said. We had a large thing showing off how wonderful life is here followed by something that showed how bad life can be.

When Cheryl Heuton and her husband moved to Pasadena, they only had toothbrush, laptops and old stuffed animals that belonged to their children.

An emergency order to be obeyed signals the fire is an immediate threat to life and recommends people with pets and livestock to get out of the way.

Only two fires have been somewhat contained — Lidia (40%) and Woodley (100%) — according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection — Cal Fire.

The Sunset fire began Wednesday night, encroaching on the Hollywood Hills and prompting mandatory sweeps in notable parts of the area, such as Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Boulevard and Runyon Canyon Park. Most of the zone that was evacuated was lifted early Thursday, said the Los Angeles Fire Department.

The NWS says that critical fire weather will last through Friday for parts of LA and Ventura counties. “Gusty winds and very dry conditions will continue to fuel fire starts and existing fires. Use extreme caution, stay alert to the forecast, and follow the instructions from the local officials.

Los Angeles County has been ablaze for nearly 30 years as firefighters struggled to control the blazes that have forced hundreds to flee their homes.

The National Weather Service says the Santa Ana wind is stronger than 90 mph and is safer than a 94 mph storm than 100 mph in Los Angeles and Ventura counties

The wind advisory will be in effect until Friday at 2 p.m. The NWS suggests residents stay at least 100 feet away from power lines and call for help.

We get a much stronger Santa Ana wind event every now and again, like the one we had over the past couple of days, which resulted in a powerful windstorm and life-threatening injuries.

“The typical strengths of the winds are about 30 to 60 mph when they happen, a couple times a year”, said the NWS Los Angeles/ Oxnard’s chief meteorologist, according to Morning Edition.

Winds have gradually weakened since their peak earlier Wednesday, when the NWS recorded speeds as high as 90 mph in Henninger Flats and 89 mph at Saddle Peak.

The district said the situation poses unsafe conditions for the school community because of wind, fire and smoke.

On Wednesday, President Biden made a major disaster declaration that provided federal funding to affected residents through grants for temporary housing and Home repairs and low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses.

“Southern California, we are with you. And we’re not letting up,” said the president, who on Wednesday canceled a planned trip to Italy to focus on the fire response.

There are red flag warnings in effect through Friday for parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties as winds whip and multiple fires burn out of control.