This article explains the science behind Santa Ana winds, their role in fueling California wildfires, and their impact on the state.
Santa Ana winds are dry, warm, and gusty northeast winds that blow from the interior of southern California toward the coast and offshore, moving in the opposite direction of the normal onshore flow that carries moist air from the Pacific into the region. They are created by high pressure over the Great Basin and the sinking air loses its moisture as it flows in a clockwise direction toward southern California.
As the air passes through mountain ranges that separate the desert from the metropolitan region lining the coast, it speeds up, becoming drier and warmer. Humidity levels often plunge to single-digit percentages during a Santa Ana wind, causing vegetation to dry out and become susceptible to fire. The tremendous wind speeds can stoke any spark into a rapidly spreading conflagration. Santa Anas are linked to some of the worst wildfires southern California has experienced, including the Woolsey fire in 2018 and the Franklin fire in the Malibu area. A commonly accepted explanation for the name is that it is linked to Santa Ana Canyon in Orange County
SANTA ANA WINDS CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES WEATHER CLIMATE CHANGE NATURAL DISASTERS
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