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So where are the Santa Ana winds?
October 22nd, 2009, 6:35 pm · 12 Comments · posted by Gary Robbins, science writer-editor
DANGEROUS DAYS: The Santa Ana winds spread the Santiago fire in October 2007. Image courtesy of Wikipedia Commons.
Many people, especially those who’ve lived here a long time, associate October with strong Santa Ana winds. And not without reason. Orange County has experienced many powerful Santa Anas during past Octobers, including the one that stoked the Santiago fire two years ago this week. That fire burned more than 28,000 acres of land and chased people from their homes in northeast Orange County.
But this October has been relatively quiet. And the National Weather Service says it is possible that we’ll get through the month without Santa Ana winds that blow fast and strong all the way from the inland foothills to the beach. The long-term models show an offshore condition developing next Wednesday or Thursday. But it doesn’t look to be very strong, say forecasters.
That doesn’t mean the county will pass through the fall without strong offshore winds. The Santa Anas can pick up in November, and it is not unusual to have harsh winds into February. Indeed, last year’s Freeway fire began in November and was rapidly spread by the Santa Anas, charring more than 30,000 acres. So this is a wait-and-see kind of thing.
By the way, most forecasters define Santa Anas as sustained winds that blow out of the north-northeast at 25 mph or more.
(You say Santanas, we say Santa Anas).
As for temperatures, Orange County has been running almost 4 degrees below normal for the month. But inland highs are expected to be in the 80s through the weekend, evening the monthly average out a bit, say forecasters.
Related stories, information …
- Live Orange County weather map
- Click through our pretty gallery of Orange County weather photos (taken by readers)
- Forecasters flip-flopping on El Nino
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The Santa Ana’s were always my favorite time of year here until the arsonists ruined it every year.
It’s been a fascinating month from a meteorologist’s standpoint (lots of ups and downs after that cool stretch the first 10 days or so of the month). There have been a couple instances where it appeared several days out that a Santa Ana would develop…and it just hasn’t materialized (except the end of last week which ended up much stronger than it looked 3-4 days out). My only suspicion might be that we’ve had the trajectory of the setups that create these Santa Anas not come in ideal. We’ve had several offshore flow days, but we’ve had eddies, a little bit of marine fog/stratus and rarely an ideal setup. I think that wind direction aloft has been 30-60 degrees too far tilted to the northwest to really generate a true Santa Ana…and instead…it’s been mild, but not really hot. The real cold air this month has been a little too far north and east (Northern Rockies/Plains) to be ideal for us. Next week’s looks very interesting though. This might be a bit stronger than it looks this far out (strong storm passing to our northeast with cold air into the Great Basin)…but we’ve been down this road before…and nothing’s ever certain 7 days out
Isn’t it true that we generally get fewer fall Santa Anas in El Nino years?
My allergies were just haywire during the Santa Ana winds. One benefit of moving to Oregon is that I don’t have to deal with all the problems they winds caused for me! But don’t worry, you’ll get them on Christmas Day for those who miss them. They gave me migraines many Christmas Days for my 47 years in Orange County!
Where are the Santa Ana winds?? Maybe they are hiding with Al Gore’s hurricanes.
It is interesting to see how the “name” of the winds has evolved over the years. Originally they were known as the “santana winds”, and was the name I knew growing up in the orchards of Anaheim in the early 1940’s, and even the name of Humphrey Bogart’s yacht. (The derivation of “santanas” is believed to be from “Satanás”, or the Spanish for “Satan’s winds”.)
Etymologists believe that the post-World War influx of arrivals from the East was responsible for the word’s gradual change. Easterners, unfamiliar with the term “santana”, but familiar with the town of Santa Ana, simply misapplied the town’s name to the wind. This is even more sensible when you stop to think that the winds blow in from the hot desert to the East, not from the town to the South.
As a sidebar, back in the 1960’s, Ralph Story devoted an entire program to the winds and the origins of the word.
oh boy, here we go again.
Anecdotally I’d say yes…But I remember howling Santa Anas in late 1997, and 97-98 was an El Nino.
One more anecdote: While it’s true we usually get some Santa Ana action by this time of year, I think the worst come later - Thanksgiving to Christmas being the peak. September and October we get the 30 and 40 MPH gusts……..November and December we get the 50 and 60 …and 80, if you’re at the base of a canyon…..MPH gusts.
Next time you drive up 261 Toll Road, from Tustin Ranch to Santiago where it meets the 241, check out the Eucalyptus trees on the right side (driving north)….there’s a reason they grow with a 20 or 30 degree tilt downwind!!
I remember several years back in the mid-80’s where all the trees in the Christmas tree lots would be blown over the Santa Anas. I also have some pictures from the same time of my relatives from Idaho basking in the 90 degree weather at Christmas.
The last BIG wind I remember was about December 02. It was cold and blew so hard it blew the gutters off my house. A 100 foot tree on our street blew over, and all the power lines on Batavia were down.
I like the Santa Ana winds… I miss them too.
I’m listening to the Santa Ana’s blowing right now in Silverado Canyon! I didn’t expect them today but they woke me up first thing this morning. We’ve had to close all the doors and windows on this nice warm day because they were bringing in too much dirt / dust!
I don’t miss the winds because I do associate them with trees coming down in the middle of the night and the fire hazards. Gary, the picture you have here gave me chills as it brought back so many emotions that we residents had to experience. I cringe anytime I see a fire anywhere because I know the loss it brings.
They started here tonight in Eastern Santa Ana right around 8:45. Were these even forecast? They’re pretty wicked.
Thanks for calling the Santa Ana Winds correctly. They are not Santana Winds and for the almost 80 years I have lived in Orange County they have always been called Santa Ana Winds because as the old timers, cowboys and farmers taught us, they come through the Santa Ana Canyon, ( and it was never called Santana Canyon).
I do not remember the month or exact year but it was in the 1950’s and the winds were blowing at 110 miles and hour when a fire started in Santa Ana Canyon because some idot was smoking, threw his cigarette out of his truck window. and it blew onto a mattress that he had in the back of his truck and it caught on fire. The idot then pulled over to the side of the road, threw the mattress out which started the fire. It burned 144,000 acres and some homes in the almost the same pattern because of the way the wind blows.