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Natural Phenomena

Santa Ana Winds

Climate and Weather Patterns

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A seasonal, dry offshore wind that blows from the interior deserts of the southwestern United States toward the Southern California coast, forming when high pressure over the Great Basin pushes air down through mountain passes and canyons, warming and drying further as it descends. Santa Ana events are strongly associated with Southern California's most destructive wildfires, since the wind's low humidity, high speed and downslope warming combine to rapidly dry vegetation and drive fire spread once a blaze has started.

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