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Dangerous Santa Ana Winds To Roar Across California
January 22, 2022
UPDATED By WeatherBug Meteorologist, Andrew Rosenthal
Gusty and potentially damaging winds will roll through southern California tonight into Saturday morning as a strong “Santa Ana” wind pattern develops across the region.
The drivers of the weather pattern are strong high pressure centered in the northern Great Basin and low pressure across the lower Colorado River Valley. With air flowing from the high toward the low, it is leading to northeast winds that will roll from Idaho and Nevada toward the Golden State. Coupled with the presence of the Sierra Nevada and San Gabriel mountains to further amplify the winds, the result is a powerful blast of wind that could gust as high as 70 to 80 mph overnight.
High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories are in place across much of southern California, the Sierra Nevada, northern San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento Valley and San Francisco Bay Area. This includes San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles and Anaheim.
Winds have started to pick up across northern California, with gusts to 35 mph in Modesto, 39 mph near Sacramento and 44 mph in Vacaville. While Lancaster has seen gusts of 48 to 55 mph so far, most areas in the Los Angeles Basin have peaked in the 15 to 30 mph range.
These gusts will take a marked increase after sunset as the high pressure system strengthens in the Great Basin. This will lead to gusts overnight and into Saturday morning increasing to 60 to 70 mph across the Sierra Nevada and 70 to 80 mph in the wide-open Antelope Valley and surrounding hillsides. Winds will also filter down the length of the Sacramento Valley and across the Los Angeles Basin, producing gusts of 30 to 45 mph.
These strong gusts are likely to cause power outages as trees and branches get knocked down. In addition, quick-spreading wildfires are possible where live power lines are knocked down. Loose items such as trash and recycle bins and lawn equipment can cause significant damage if they become airborne, so secure any of those items this evening.
The windy weather will diminish throughout the day on Saturday as the low pressure system marches eastward toward New Mexico and the southern Rockies, releasing the strong pressure gradient on California.