Dec 24, 2007 1:56 pm US/Pacific
Watch Out For Those Santa Ana Winds, Santa!
Red Flag Warning To Be In Effect Christmas Eve, Day
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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A Red Flag Warning will be in effect through Tuesday at 8 p.m.
CBS
Santa and his sleigh will be riding strong tailwinds out of the north Christmas Eve, but those gusty conditions will also bring a threat of wildfires.
Santa Ana winds are expected to begin blowing through the region late Monday night, prompting the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning, indicating that conditions will be ripe for brush fires.
For much of the Los Angeles area, the warning will take effect at 10 p.m. and last through 8 p.m. on Tuesday. In coastal areas, the warning will not take effect until 2 a.m. on Tuesday. In Orange County, a red flag warning will be in effect from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. for coastal areas and Santa Ana Mountains.
"The strong northeast winds are expected to develop by late Monday evening in the mountains and valleys, spreading into the coastal plain late tonight or early Tuesday morning," according to a NWS advisory. "Areas under a 'red flag' warning will have humidities fall into the single digits on Christmas day.
"Several days of offshore flow leading into Christmas day has sufficiently dried fuels below critical thresholds across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, prompting the issuance of the red flag warning."
Mountain and inland areas can expect winds out of the north and northeast at speeds of 30 to 45 mph below passes and canyons, with gusts topping 70 mph or more possible.
In the coastal mountains, the winds will be lighter, about 20-35 mph, with gusts up to about 55 mph. The offshore winds will bring warmer temperatures, thanks to the compressional heating that occurs as winds out of the high desert drop into the Los Angeles Basin.
Highs across the metro area are forecast to be in the 70s on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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