California to be hit by hurricane-force winds in coming days

Gusty winds and almost summerlike warmth have already created dangerous conditions and elevated the fire danger to critical levels across parts of Southern California during the latter part of last week into the weekend. Forecasters now warn that an even more powerful windstorm is on the horizon.

Some communities already faced evacuations as a fire broke out and winds quickly fanned the flames in Ventura County last week. AccuWeather meteorologists say that residents should remain prepared to evacuate on short notice as dangerous fire weather is far from over.

High wind watches and advisories are posted for parts of Southern California, and the National Weather Service warned that conditions will be "favorable for extreme fire behavior which would threaten life and property" and added that people should use "extreme caution" with any sources that could lead to fire ignition. Parking cars over dry brush, for instance, or using open flames and outdoor grills could spark fires.

A look at the High Wind Watches, Warnings and Advisories in effect in parts of California Sunday night.

"The setup for Monday into Wednesday checks all of the boxes for a strong Santa Ana wind event with gusts in the neighborhood of 80-100 mph in most northeast wind-prone locations of Southern California," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuhel said.

Utility companies may be forced to cut power as a precaution to avoid downed live wires sparking blazes. Southern California Edison has reported that over 277,000 customers in the Los Angeles area could see their power cut as a safety precaution in the upcoming storm. Winds are forecast to be strong enough to topple trees, break tree limbs and knock down power lines.

The high wind event will be fueled by the usual difference in atmospheric pressure as an area of high pressure will build over the Northwest and Great Basin regions. Air will then be forced over the tops of the mountains and through the passes and canyons of California, which can increase local wind gusts further.

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There will be a boost in winds from a pattern high in the atmosphere as well. A disturbance is forecast to drop southward along the Pacific Coast states.

"The combination of the high pressure area, the disturbance and a developing storm near the coast of the northern part of Baja California, Mexico, will really get the wind cranking," AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.

The strongest winds are expected in the northern Sierra Nevada as well as in the Transverse Ranges of Southern California. In these areas, wind gusts of 70 to 90 mph are anticipated, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 120 mph.

Even though the strongest winds will tend to focus over sparsely populated portions of the mountains, the wind event will be a regional one. Strong winds will whip even through highly populated portions of the region, where gusts can kick up dust, create difficult handling of vehicles in open areas, toss loose objects such as garbage cans and patio furniture and raise the potential for quickly spreading fires throughout the dry landscape of the Southwest.

"Typically Santa Ana winds stay out of downtown Los Angeles and the L.A. Basin, but this time conditions may set up just right to bring 30-40 mph wind gusts even in those typically calmer areas," said AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Mike Doll.

Unlike the weather pattern that created moderate Santa Ana winds and a surge in temperature last week, the upcoming event will be associated with progressively cooler air.

The southward plunge in the jet stream in the Southwestern states will allow colder air that will build up over western Canada and the interior Northwest and then move southward.

"The combination of the disturbance and the storm forecast to develop over the northwestern part of Mexico or just offshore will also begin to pump some moisture into the southwestern U.S.," Buckingham said. "By Tuesday, some desert rain and mountain snow are foreseen over the interior Southwest and in northern Mexico."

This first storm is likely to signify a change in the weather pattern for the Southwest and the western U.S. in general.

Early indications are that the upcoming pattern may allow a storm to drop southward along the West Coast every three to four days or so through the end of January.

The same pattern may also continue to bring some wind events and fire risk in between the storms, but the cumulative effect might be to really knock down the fire potential and get some moisture in the ground and flowing through streams in the region that could prove beneficial in the long run.

Regardless of how stormy the pattern becomes, much cooler conditions are in store for coastal areas of the West, and much colder conditions are predicted across the interior, relative to most of the winter thus far.

Temperatures over the Southwest for the latter third of January may average a few degrees Fahrenheit below normal along the coast to as much as 10 degrees below normal over parts of the interior. The normal high for Downtown Los Angeles on Jan. 25 is 68, and the normal high in Flagstaff, Arizona, is 43.

The pattern change could bring quite the shock to people who live across the region, especially following almost summerlike temperatures the past few days.

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