Baron/Lynx
Ethan Swope/Associated Press
The Santa Ana winds fueling the 1,200-acre Palisades Fire will get worse in the next few hours as the strongest winds are expected to peak in the overnight hours and likely worsen firefighting conditions.
The National Weather Service warned of “widespread damaging wind gusts of 50 to 80 mph with isolated gusts of 80 to 100 mph.” The agency cautioned that “many downed trees and power lines” were expected from about 8 p.m. on Tuesday night through 5 p.m. on Wednesday morning.
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Overnight, the strongest winds are expected to impact the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and their foothills, with gusts reaching up to and above 80 mph. These intense gusts, ranging from 50 to 80 mph, will also extend into the San Gabriel and San Fernando valleys, affecting areas such as Pasadena, Burbank, Hollywood, and Beverly Hills.
This includes the area being affected by the Pacific Palisades fire. As the winds strengthen overnight, they will start to blow more from the north to northeast, which puts the more populated areas of Pacific Palisades at risk.
This offshore wind event is being driven by a combination of atmospheric dynamics. A strong upper-level low-pressure system spinning near northern Baja Mexico is pulling dry air from the interior through the valleys and passes of Southern California, dropping relative humidity levels into the teens. At the same time, a high-pressure system building off the Pacific coast is amplifying the pressure gradient, intensifying the winds from the northeast.
Adding to the complexity is a mass of cold air descending from the upper atmosphere closer to the surface, creating conditions for mountain waves to form. These waves can produce sudden, isolated wind gusts exceeding 80 mph without warning. This unique interaction between the upper-level low, the high-pressure system, and the influx of cold air aloft increases the risk of damaging winds not just in the mountains and foothills but also in areas farther inland.
Large parts of the Bay Area will be affected by a wind event that’s also fueling the Palisades Fire in Southern California.
Baron/Lynx
The Bay Area is also feeling the effects of this offshore wind event. Dry and gusty northeast winds helped push temperatures into the upper 60s and to 70 degrees in some spots and set a new daily record high temperature of 72 degrees in Santa Rosa.
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The winds will increase again overnight Tuesday with gusts of 25 to 45 mph from the northeast that could rattle windows and cause minor damage. A wind advisory remains in effect for the entire Bay Area through 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning with the National Weather Service calling for gusts “up to 50 mph” in some of the higher elevations.
Jan 7, 2025
Senior Newsroom Meteorologist
