The Santa Ana winds have returned in the Santa Clarita weather forecast, bringing dry and warm temperatures with elevated fire conditions through Tuesday.
Starting Tuesday, temperatures are expected to reach around 100 degrees with gusty northeast winds, said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“We’ve got weak Santa Ana conditions that are resulting in low humidity,” Sweet said.
The Santa Anas, which are winds blowing off the desert floor, typically begin in mid-September and last through April, according to officials.
The winds bring dry conditions, which make fire conditions rise.
See Related: Return Of Santa Ana Wind Conditions Bring Elevated Fire Risk To Santa Clarita
There are three different types of Santa Ana wind events based on their speed, according to officials with the Geography Area Coordination Center.
A weak Santa Ana event is when winds are 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph.
A moderate Santa Ana event is 20 to 30 mph winds with gusts up to 50 mph.
And a strong Santa Ana event is when winds are 20 to 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph, according to officials.
A weak Santa Ana wind event is expected for Tuesday morning, bringing wind gusts of up to 35 mph, according to officials.
“Because of these conditions, warm temperatures, wind and low humidity, we have elevated fire conditions across the area,” but no red flag warning has been issued, Sweet said.
Due to the dry winds, if a fire were to spark, flames could spread rapidly, according to officials.
See Related: What Is A First-Alarm Response? The KHTS Guide To Fire Terminology
Sometimes when Santa Ana winds are expected, the National Weather Service can issue red flag warnings, at which point fires are more likely to start.
In order for a red flag warning to be issued, one of three different criteria have to be met which include:
The relative humidity is 15 percent or less with sustained winds 25 mph or greater or frequent gust 35 mph or greater in a duration of six hours or more.
The second criterion is when relative humidity is 10 percent or less with either sustained winds at 15 mph or greater or frequent gust of 25 mph or greater in a duration of six hours or more.
Lastly, if there is widespread and/or significant dry lightning, according to officials.
Santa Ana winds have been responsible for driving many known brush fires in the Santa Clarita Valley such as the duckweed Fire in 2007 and the Tick Fire in 2019.
By Wednesday, temperatures are expected to return to the upper 70s to low 80s, according to Sweet.
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