Cold Santa Ana Winds Elevate Fire Risk

Strong, gusty Santa Ana Winds blew across the Southland today, and National Weather Service forecasters warned of an elevated risk of fire through Saturday.

The forecast of a “weak to moderate cold Santa Ana wind event” represented a new wrinkle in Southern California’s weather picture, which has been dominated this week by frigid early-morning temperatures.

A frost warning was in force in the San Fernando Valley and the Santa Monica Mountain Recreational Area until 9 a.m. Early-morning temperatures in the western San Fernando Valley dropped into the mid-30s.

The NWS said high pressure over the Great Basin and low pressure over California will result in “a weak to moderate cold Santa Ana wind event over much of Los Angeles and Ventura counties Thursday through Saturday.”

The offshore winds will peak on New Year’s Day, when the humidity level will be low -- in the teens.

“Vegetation across Southwest California is very dry, so if fire ignition does occur, conditions may be favorable for extreme fire behavior that could threaten life and property,” an NWS statement said.

A wind advisory will be in effect until 3 a.m. today in the San Fernando and Santa Clarita valleys, the San Gabriel and Santa Monica mountains, and the so-called coastal zone, which consists of beach cities, metropolitan L.A., the downtown area and the Hollywood Hills.

Northeast winds of between 15 and 40 miles per hour, with gusts of up to 50 mph in some mountain areas, were expected where the wind advisory was in effect.

The NWS forecast sunny skies today and highs of 48 in Palmdale; 50 in Lancaster; 51 on Mount Wilson; 57 in Saugus; 62 in Burbank; 63 in Avalon; 64 in Pasadena and Woodland Hills; 65 at LAX and in downtown L.A. and San Gabriel; and 66 in Long Beach.

Temperatures will be a degree lower in many communities on a sunny New Year’s Day, rise by a few degrees under partly cloudy skies on Saturday, drop back a bit under mostly cloudy skies Sunday, followed by rain from Monday through Wednesday, a stretch when temperatures will range from the mid to the low 60s.

--City News Service