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The '''Santa Ana winds''' are strong, extremely dry offshore [[wind]]s that affect coastal [[Southern California]] and northern [[Baja California]] in autumn and winter. They can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the [[Great Basin]] and upper [[Mojave Desert]]. The winds are known for the hot dry weather (often the hottest of the year) that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires. |
The '''Santa Ana winds''' are strong, extremely dry offshore [[wind]]s that affect coastal [[Southern California]] and northern [[Baja California]] in autumn and winter. They can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the [[Great Basin]] and upper [[Mojave Desert]]. The winds are known for the hot dry weather (often the hottest of the year) that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires. |
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== Description == |
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⚫ | California|Catalina Island]]. Protected harbors such as [[Avalon, California|Avalon]] and [[Two Harbors, California|Two Harbors]] are normally protected and the waters within the harbors are very calm. In strong Santa Ana conditions, these harbors develop high surf and strong winds that can tear boats from their moorings and crash them onto the shore. During a Santa Ana, it is advised that boaters moor on the back side of the island to avoid the dangerous conditions of the front side. |
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===Meteorology=== |
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The [[National Weather Service]] defines Santa Ana winds as "Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 mph, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions."<ref>{{cite web|title=Santa Ana Wind|url=http://www.weather.gov/glossary/index.php?word=SANTA%20ANA%20WIND|work=NOAA's National Weather Service Glossary|publisher=NOAA National Weather Service|accessdate=10 February 2011}}</ref> |
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[[File:Santa ana winds.jpg|thumb|300px|This map illustration shows a characteristic [[high-pressure area]] centered over the [[Great Basin]], with the clockwise [[anticyclone]] wind flow out of the high-pressure center giving rise to a Santa Ana wind event as the airmass flows through the passes and canyons of southern California, manifesting as a dry northeasterly wind.]] |
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It is often said that the air is heated and dried as it passes through the [[Mojave Desert|Mojave]] and [[Sonoran Desert|Sonoran]] [[desert]]s, but according to meteorologists this is a popular misconception. The Santa Ana winds usually form during autumn and early spring when the surface air in the elevated regions of the Great Basin and Mojave Desert (the "high desert") becomes cool or even cold, although they may form at virtually any time of year. The air heats up from [[Lapse rate#Dry adiabatic lapse rate|adiabatic heating]] during its descent. While the air has already been dried by [[orographic lift]] before reaching the Great Basin as well as by subsidence from the upper atmosphere, the relative humidity of the air is further decreased as it descends from the high desert toward the coast, often falling below 10 percent. |
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The air from the high desert is initially relatively dense owing to its coolness and aridity, and thus tends to channel down the valleys and canyons in gusts which can attain hurricane force at times. As it descends, the air not only becomes drier, but also warms [[Adiabatic process|adiabatically]] by compression. The southern California coastal region gets some of its hottest weather of the year during autumn while Santa Ana winds are blowing. During Santa Ana conditions it is typically hotter along the coast than in the deserts.<ref>{{cite web|title=Santa Ana Winds - Wildfires|url=http://www.noaawatch.gov/2008/santa_ana.php|work=NOAA Watch All Hazards Monitor|publisher=NOAA National Weather Service|accessdate=10 February 2011}}</ref> |
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[[File:SantaAnaWinds QuikSCAT 2002feb.jpg|thumb|left|300px|[[QuikSCAT]] image showing the speed of the Santa Ana winds (m/s).]] |
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Note that while the Santa Ana Winds are a [[katabatic wind]], they are not a Föhn wind. A [[Foehn wind|Föhn wind]] results from precipitation on the windward side of a mountain range which releases latent heat into the atmosphere which is then warmer on the leeward side (e.g., the [[Chinook wind|Chinook]] or the original Föhn). The Santa Ana winds do not originate in precipitation, but in the bone-dry high deserts. |
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The combination of wind, heat, and dryness accompanying the Santa Ana winds turns the [[chaparral]] into explosive fuel feeding the infamous [[wildfire]]s for which the region is known. Wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds burned {{convert|721,791|acre|km2}} in two weeks during October 2003.<ref name = "October 2003">*http://www.geotimes.org/oct03/WebExtra103103.html</ref> |
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These same winds have contributed to the fires that have burned some {{convert|426000|acre|km2}} as of late October 2007.<ref name = "October 2007">*http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_re_us/california_wildfires</ref> |
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Although the winds often have a destructive nature, they have some benefits as well. They cause cold water to rise from below the surface layer of the ocean, bringing with it many nutrients that ultimately benefit local fisheries. As the winds blow over the ocean, sea surface temperatures drop about 4[[°C]] (7[[°F]]), indicating the [[upwelling]]. [[Chlorophyll]] concentrations in the surface water go from negligible, in the absence of winds, to very active at more than 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter in the presence of the winds. |
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=== Local boating === |
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⚫ | During the Santa Ana winds, large ocean waves can develop. These waves come from a northeasterly direction; toward the normally sheltered side of [[Santa Catalina Island, California|Catalina Island]]. Protected harbors such as [[Avalon, California|Avalon]] and [[Two Harbors, California|Two Harbors]] are normally protected and the waters within the harbors are very calm. In strong Santa Ana conditions, these harbors develop high surf and strong winds that can tear boats from their moorings and crash them onto the shore. During a Santa Ana, it is advised that boaters moor on the back side of the island to avoid the dangerous conditions of the front side. |
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==Related Phenomena== |
==Related Phenomena== |
Revision as of 00:37, 17 January 2013
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ce/Santa_Ana_winds_-_satellite_image.jpg/300px-Santa_Ana_winds_-_satellite_image.jpg)
The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry offshore winds that affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California in autumn and winter. They can range from hot to cold, depending on the prevailing temperatures in the source regions, the Great Basin and upper Mojave Desert. The winds are known for the hot dry weather (often the hottest of the year) that they bring in the fall, and are infamous for fanning regional wildfires.
Description
Meteorology
The National Weather Service defines Santa Ana winds as "Strong down slope winds that blow through the mountain passes in southern California. These winds, which can easily exceed 40 mph, are warm and dry and can severely exacerbate brush or forest fires, especially under drought conditions."[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/75/Santa_ana_winds.jpg/300px-Santa_ana_winds.jpg)
It is often said that the air is heated and dried as it passes through the Mojave and Sonoran deserts, but according to meteorologists this is a popular misconception. The Santa Ana winds usually form during autumn and early spring when the surface air in the elevated regions of the Great Basin and Mojave Desert (the "high desert") becomes cool or even cold, although they may form at virtually any time of year. The air heats up from adiabatic heating during its descent. While the air has already been dried by orographic lift before reaching the Great Basin as well as by subsidence from the upper atmosphere, the relative humidity of the air is further decreased as it descends from the high desert toward the coast, often falling below 10 percent.
The air from the high desert is initially relatively dense owing to its coolness and aridity, and thus tends to channel down the valleys and canyons in gusts which can attain hurricane force at times. As it descends, the air not only becomes drier, but also warms adiabatically by compression. The southern California coastal region gets some of its hottest weather of the year during autumn while Santa Ana winds are blowing. During Santa Ana conditions it is typically hotter along the coast than in the deserts.[2]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/76/SantaAnaWinds_QuikSCAT_2002feb.jpg/300px-SantaAnaWinds_QuikSCAT_2002feb.jpg)
Note that while the Santa Ana Winds are a katabatic wind, they are not a Föhn wind. A Föhn wind results from precipitation on the windward side of a mountain range which releases latent heat into the atmosphere which is then warmer on the leeward side (e.g., the Chinook or the original Föhn). The Santa Ana winds do not originate in precipitation, but in the bone-dry high deserts.
The combination of wind, heat, and dryness accompanying the Santa Ana winds turns the chaparral into explosive fuel feeding the infamous wildfires for which the region is known. Wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds burned 721,791 acres (2,920.98 km2) in two weeks during October 2003.[3] These same winds have contributed to the fires that have burned some 426,000 acres (1,720 km2) as of late October 2007.[4]
Although the winds often have a destructive nature, they have some benefits as well. They cause cold water to rise from below the surface layer of the ocean, bringing with it many nutrients that ultimately benefit local fisheries. As the winds blow over the ocean, sea surface temperatures drop about 4°C (7°F), indicating the upwelling. Chlorophyll concentrations in the surface water go from negligible, in the absence of winds, to very active at more than 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter in the presence of the winds.
Local boating
During the Santa Ana winds, large ocean waves can develop. These waves come from a northeasterly direction; toward the normally sheltered side of Catalina Island. Protected harbors such as Avalon and Two Harbors are normally protected and the waters within the harbors are very calm. In strong Santa Ana conditions, these harbors develop high surf and strong winds that can tear boats from their moorings and crash them onto the shore. During a Santa Ana, it is advised that boaters moor on the back side of the island to avoid the dangerous conditions of the front side.
Related Phenomena
Santa Ana fog
A Santa Ana fog is a derivative phenomenon in which a ground fog settles in Southern California during the end of a Santa Ana wind episode. When Santa Ana conditions prevail, with winds in the lower two to three kilometers (1.25-1.8 miles) of the atmosphere from the north through east, the lower atmosphere continues to be dry. When the Santa Ana winds cease, the cool and moist marine layer forms rapidly. The air in the marine layer becomes very moist and fog occurs.[5][6]
A related phenomenon occurs when the Santa Ana condition is present but weak, allowing hot dry air to accumulate in the inland valleys that may not push all the way to sea level. Under these conditions auto commuters can drive from the San Fernando Valley where conditions are sunny and warm, over the low Santa Monica Mountains, to plunge into the cool cloudy air, low clouds, and fog characteristic of the marine air mass. This and the "Santa Ana fog" above constitute examples of an air inversion.
Sundowner Winds
The similar winds in the Santa Barbara area occur most frequently in the late spring to early summer, and are strongest at sunset, or "sundown"; hence their name: sundowner. Because high pressure areas usually migrate east, changing the pressure gradient in southern California to the northeast, it is common for "sundowner" wind events to precede Santa Ana events by a day or two.[7]
Arctic and Antarctic katabatic winds
Winds blowing off the elevated glaciated plateaus of Greenland and Antarctica experience the most extreme form of katabatic wind, of which the Santa Ana is a type, for the most part. The winds start at a high elevation and flow outward and downslope, attaining hurricane gusts in valleys, along the shore, and even out to sea. Like the Santa Ana, these winds also heat up by compression and lose humidity, but because they start out so extraordinarily cold and dry and blow over snow and ice all the way to the sea, the perceived similarity is negligible.
Historical impact
![]() | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (December 2011) |
The winds are also associated with some of the area's largest and deadliest wildfires, including the state's largest fire on record, the Cedar Fire, as well as the Laguna Fire, Old Fire, Esperanza Fire, Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 and the Witch Fire.
In October 2007 the winds fueled major wild fires and house burnings in Escondido, Malibu, Rainbow, San Marcos, Carlsbad, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, Ramona, and in the major cities of San Bernardino, San Diego and Los Angeles. The Santa Ana winds were also a factor in the November 2008 California wildfires.
In December 2011 the winds led to "state of emergency" declarations in several municipalities after 80+ mph gusts toppled hundreds of trees, power lines, and traffic signals throughout the San Gabriel Valley. Approximately 230,000 people were left without power for an extended period after the incident.[8]
Health effects
The winds carry Coccidioides immitis and Coccidioides posadasii spores into nonendemic areas,[9][10] a pathogenic fungus that causes Coccidioidomycosis ("Valley Fever"). Symptomatic infection (40% of cases) usually presents as an influenza-like illness with fever, cough, headaches, rash, and myalgia (muscle pain).[10] Serious complications include severe pneumonia, lung nodules, and disseminated disease, where the fungus spreads throughout the body. The disseminated form of Coccidioidomycosis can devastate the body, causing skin ulcers, abscesses, bone lesions, severe joint pain, heart inflammation, urinary tract problems, meningitis, and often death.[11]
The United States government worked on a vaccine for Coccidioidomycosis during the mid-1960s, in the hopes of weaponizing C. immitis for use as an incapacitant. But the work was abandoned when medical epidemiology uncovered lethal effects on several segments of the population, and C. immitis was reclassified as a lethal agent.[12]
There is some belief the winds also create positive ions, which are believed to affect mood negatively. Many believe this to be the cause for the statistical increase in the number of suicides and homicides during these times.[13][14] [15][16][17]
Etymology
According to the Los Angeles Almanac: "The original spelling of the name of the winds is unclear, not to mention the origin." The name "Santa Ana Winds" is said to be traced to Spanish California, when the winds were called devil winds because of their heat. Santa Ana winds may get their name from the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, the Santa Ana River or Santa Ana Canyon, along which the winds are particularly strong. The original form may have been an Anglicized version of the Spanish, Satana's winds, from the Spanish vientos de Satán ("winds of Satan"). Sanatanas is a rarer form of Satanas and is a translation of a native name in an unspecified language.[citation needed]
Dr. George Fischbeck was a widely viewed newscaster in Southern California in the 1970s and 1980s who helped to familiarize Californians with the winds, which he referred to by their other common name, the "Santana winds" (Santana is a Spanish contraction for Santa Ana), noting that they were not confined to Orange County (where Santa Ana is located), but occurred throughout Southern California. He delighted in the symbolism of the devil's breath playing havoc with Southern California.
A recent popular guide book Los Angeles A to Z (by Leonard & Dale Pitt), credits the Santa Ana Canyon in Orange County as the origin of the name Santa Ana winds.
One account places the origin of the term Santa Ana winds with an Associated Press correspondent stationed in Santa Ana who mistakenly began using Santa Ana winds instead of Santana winds in a 1901 dispatch.
Santa Ana winds in popular culture
There was a desert wind blowing that night. It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch. On nights like that every booze party ends in a fight. Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen. You can even get a full glass of beer at a cocktail lounge.
— Raymond Chandler, "Red Wind"
- The 1970 Tim Buckley song "Venice Beach" includes the lyrics "White heat of swaying day/ Dark slap of conga cries/ 'Come out and breathe as one'/ Salt sea and fiddles drone/ Out on the dancing stone/ While the Santanas blow/ Sing the music boats in the bay."
- The Beach Boys song "Santa Ana Winds" appears on their 1980 album Keepin' the Summer Alive.
- The song "Babylon Sisters" by Walter Becker and Donald Fagen from the Steely Dan album "Gaucho" (1980) has the refrain "Here come those Santa Ana winds again."
- On Survivor's 1983 album Caught in the Game, an atmospheric song named "Santa Ana Winds" refers to a disastrous woman.
- Steve Goodman's Santa Ana Winds, the last album released before his death in 1984, contains the song of the same name. Goodman wrote this analogy of unrequited love from the view of a man from a city where wind is understood.
- The a cappella group The Bobs' song "Santa Ana Woman" from their 1988 album Songs for Tomorrow Morning has the line "The Santa Ana winds had come back / And the whole city of LA was acting like it had PMS."
- The band Animal Logic recorded a song "Winds Of Santa Ana" appearing in the band's self-titled 1989 album.
- Bad Religion mentions the winds a few times, using their nickname "murder winds", "St. Anne's skirts are billowing" and the line "The fans of Santa Ana are withering" in the song "Los Angeles Is Burning" from the 2004 album The Empire Strikes First. "When the hills of Los Angeles are burning/ Palm trees are candles in the murder winds/ So many lives are on the breeze/ Even the stars are ill at ease/ And Los Angeles is burning."
- British Indie Rock band, The Wedding Present released their eighth studio album, El Rey in 2008 which begins with the song "Santa Ana Winds" containing the lyrics "Outside, the Santa Ana Winds are blowing hot/Inside, some things are happening that really should not."
- Rock band Sons of Bill have a song called "Santa Ana Winds"
- Australian singer Ben Lee sings about a girl at a concert in Pomona telling him about the Santa Ana Winds in his 2005 single "Catch My Disease."
- Raymond Chandler's 1938 detective story "Red Wind" opens with a description of the Santa Anas and their effect on the populace.
- Erle Stanley Gardner (writing as A.A. Fair) described the winds in chapter 12 of his 1941 novel Double or Quits; the winds were relevant to an experiment carried out by the fictional detective who was attempting to prove whether a man's death was accidental.
- The Santa Ana winds are the subject of a 1965 essay by Joan Didion entitled "Los Angeles Notebook," which appears in her Slouching Towards Bethlehem collection of essays.
- The Santa Ana winds are important to the plot of the 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
- The Santa Ana winds are important aspects in the 1985 novel Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis.
- The Santa Ana winds are important to the plot of the 1999 novel White Oleander by Janet Fitch.
- The prologue of Clive Barker's 2001 Coldheart Canyon describes in three pages how the winds "come sighing off the desert, heavy with their perfume..." in a metaphysical as well as environmental sense.
- Several references to the winds are made in the hit TV show Beverly Hills, 90210.
- Kitty's fear of the winds were featured in the "Date Night" episode of the ABC series Brothers & Sisters.
- In an episode of Southland titled 'The Winds', the Santa Ana Winds are mentioned multiple times and play a key role throughout the episode.
- The Television show Popular features the winds in Windstruck season one, episode 4.
- The Santa Ana Winds were an important part of the plot in the 2006 movie The Holiday.
- In Joan Didion's essay, The Santa Ana, she describes the winds effect on the local residents in a story-like manner.
- Los Angeles native Belinda Carlisle's album Runaway Horses mentions "...kisses hotter than the Santa Ana Winds" in the song Summer Rain.
- Everclear (band) features a track titled "Santa Ana Wind" on their 2012 album Invisible Stars. The song is an ode to living in Southern California.
- In the manga and anime series Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the character Santana's name is derived from this phenomenon.
See also
- Climate of the Los Angeles Basin
- Chinook wind
- Diablo wind
- Foehn wind
- Katabatic wind
- Sundowner (wind)
- Sirocco
- Bora (wind)
- Oroshi
- Khamsin
References
- ^ "Santa Ana Wind". NOAA's National Weather Service Glossary. NOAA National Weather Service. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ "Santa Ana Winds - Wildfires". NOAA Watch All Hazards Monitor. NOAA National Weather Service. Retrieved 10 February 2011.
- ^ *http://www.geotimes.org/oct03/WebExtra103103.html
- ^ *http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071024/ap_on_re_us/california_wildfires
- ^ Leipper, D. F., Fog development at San Diego, California, J. Mar. Research, 7, 337-346, 1948.
- ^ Leipper, D. F., Fog on the United States West Coast: a review. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 75, 229-240.
- ^ Ryan, G., and L. E. Burch, 1992: An analysis of sundowner winds: A California downslope wind event. Preprints, Sixth Conf. on Mountain Meteorology, Portland, OR, Amer. Meteor. Soc., 64-67.
- ^ "Glendora declares state of emergency..." San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Los Angeles Newspaper Group. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
- ^ http://www.lapublichealth.org/acd/diseases/Cocci.pdf
- ^ a b Lawrence L. Schmelzer, M.P.H.; Irving R. Tabershaw, M.D., F.A.P.H.A. (1968). Exposure Factors In Occupational Coccidioidomycosis. McGraw Hill. p. 110.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "Sherris" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec14/ch180/ch180f.html
- ^ "NSAR Home" (PDF). Cdc.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- ^ 'Human Barometer' Physicist Probes Heat Moods of Man The Windsor Star - Nov 13, 1962
- ^ McGinnis, Judith. "McGinnis: Ion the coif". Times Record News. Retrieved 2011-11-27.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, Oct 25, 1964, Santa Ana winds that bleach and burn Southern California descend through ... ratio of positive ions to negative ions in the air is greater than normal. ... The Devil Winds Made Me Do It Santa Anas Are Enough to Make...
- ^ Los Angeles Times - Mar 12, 1988 "Negative ions make us feel good, positive ions make us feel badly," [Paul Blair ] said. Daily News of Los Angeles : SANTA ANAS: ILL WINDS THAT BLOW...
- ^ The Gazette - Mar 30, 1999 The positive ions created by the winds may make people more irritable, anxious and aggressive. When Southern California's hot, dry Santa Ana winds blow into