Los Angeles Firefighting with Santa Ana Winds, Red Flag Warnings, and Snowfall for Residential Areas in the Pacific Palisades
These winds aren’t unusual, and the strongest Santa Ana winds typically happen this time of the year. The fire threat in Los Angeles is mitigated due to the green vegetation and the fact that there is more water in the ground. This year, that hasn’t been the case, said Rich Thompson, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Los Angeles.
After a short-lived dip in speed on Tuesday afternoon, the winds are expected to accelerate to dangerous levels from Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning. The winds and conditions could persist into Thursday or Friday.
In anticipation, utility companies that serve the region warned they could begin shutting off power to some customers, though none had done so yet as of late Monday. San Diego Gas and Electric Company said it was considering power shut-offs for more than 64,000 customers as early as noon on Tuesday. A pre-emptive outages by Southern California Electricity is one of the largest it has ever had.
Red flag warnings were issued for areas of Ventura, Los Angeles and Orange counties on Tuesday and Wednesday. It is the third time this season that forecasters have issued this level of warning; the previous two warnings came during conditions that led to the Mountain and Franklin wildfires. Still, such warnings are rare: Before this year, the Los Angeles office of the National Weather Service had only issued them for warnings in 2020.
As of Tuesday afternoon, firefighters are working to contain a brush fire that is rapidly exploding in size, driven by 60 mph winds in residential areas of the Pacific Palisades in the Santa Monica Mountains. These gusty winds — which haven’t even reached the maximum predicted 80-100 mph yet — make firefighting difficult, picking up embers and dropping them up to 3/4 of a mile beyond the fire line.
The NWS said Santa Ana winds had a “life-threatening” impact on Southern California as residents fled their homes.
The system forecast to hit Texas may bring several inches of snow to southeastern Oklahoma and western and central Arkansas Thursday into Friday, the NWS said. These forecasts are still early and the NWS cautions that the extent of the storm and possible snowfall could still change.
“Texas is increasing its readiness level in order to ensure resources are quickly deployed to communities in the event of a disaster,” Abbott said in a statement Tuesday.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management was told by the governor to put resources in place before the storm.
A fatal winter storm bringing snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to the Mid-Atlantic, Mid-South and Southern Hemisphere
A fatal winter storm brought snow, ice, and freezing temperatures to the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and South over the weekend. At least four people are dead and dozens are injured after a storm hit several states, stranding cars and knocking out power.
A developing storm is expected to bring more wintry weather across the country, threatening the normally warm areas of New Mexico, Texas and other areas in the South with snow and freezing rain starting Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Department of Fire Protection has warned residents along the path of the fire that they need to be prepared to leave. Mandatory evacuation orders are in place for people living near Topanga Beach in Los Angeles County.