Gusty winds to raise wildfire risk in coastal Southern California into New Year's Day
Winds will continue to kick up over coastal Southern California through Tuesday night and into Wednesday before easing off on Thursday. AccuWeather meteorologists warn that the risk of wildfires will increase with the uptick in winds and ongoing dry conditions.
Even though this will not be noted as a strong Sundowner and Santa Ana event, the north-to-northeasterly winds produced by an area of building high pressure across the interior Southwest will still cause some trouble.
"Winds will tend to be more northerly with this event, rather than the traditional northeasterly direction," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Houk said.
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Houk pointed out that gusts will frequently be between 20 and 40 mph, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ gust near 60 mph, making this a more low-end Santa Ana event.
Santa Barbara and Ventura counties will be at the greatest overall risk, but portions of San Luis Obispo, Kern and Los Angeles counties will also be at a heightened fire risk. Downtown Los Angeles is largely sheltered from winds of this sort.
However, the dry landscape and low humidity accompanying the windy conditions will boost the risk of wildfire.
"Extreme caution is urged with the use of open flames, such as outdoor cooking and New Year's celebrations as sparks or burning embers can lead to a rapidly spreading fire," Houk said.
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In most cases, the winds will not be strong enough to pose a high risk of trees and power lines coming down, but crosswind gusts over the passes and through some of the open areas can be high enough to make for tricky handling of trucks, busses and campers.
Winds are not likely to be a major factor in the parade on Wednesday morning in Pasadena, California, or the college football game in the afternoon.
Winds are forecast to ease Wednesday to Thursday, but humidity levels will remain low, and a breeze may persist, which may continue the wildfire risk.
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