Unfortunately, the Santa Ana winds are expected to return before January is over, bringing wildfire risks back up in Southern California.
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00:00We are still monitoring for potential additional Santa Ana winds. It'll be very gusty early next
00:05week. To help us break down the details of where we are now, where we've been,
00:08where we're headed, we're joined now by AccuWeather California expert Ken Clark. Ken,
00:12good to see you again on this Friday. We're really looking at some pretty good improvement
00:16from the past week here among the fire crews. Well certainly so, and the weather is really
00:21helping. Started helping yesterday, really in place today. The cooler weather, the more humid
00:26weather, just perfect conditions for fighting the fires out there and getting more and more
00:31containment. We've already had 10 to 20 percent improvement from yesterday to today, and from
00:36today we'll probably add more to that. So we're looking at continued improvement over the next
00:41couple of days. So those fires are really in control right now. That's really nothing to
00:46be concerned about. And we love seeing those containment stats increase here. It seems that
00:50the uncontained areas are likely kind of the upwind, what's typically the upwind side, up into
00:55the higher ground where it's a little difficult, a little less accessible. And as we look at the
01:01forecast here over the next couple days, this weak onshore wind is going to be our friend.
01:05It is going to be our friend. It's bringing a lot of moisture off the Pacific. Relative
01:09humidities and dew points are noticeably higher than they've been. We've also got clouds around.
01:14It's kind of unusual at my place. It's actually staying cloudy this afternoon with marine clouds
01:19banked up against San Gabriel Mountains. So quite a big change from what we've had
01:24for the past 10 days with very dry air in place during that time and of course the very dry
01:30conditions for the fires. And look at the relative humidity here, Ken. Malibu Hills,
01:35at least the sensor there, I guess a lot of the data suggesting we're up around 60 percent,
01:4165 percent humidity. There's great news. Oh, it is great news. And that even extends into the lower
01:47coastal mountain slopes, too. So that's where the remains of the fire is at in those lower
01:53coastal mountain slopes. And even they are getting the humidity now. I know we're not seeing rain,
01:57but that does change the flammability of the vegetation. It kind of changes some of the,
02:03on an almost molecular level here. Water vapor is our friend. It slows the risk and
02:08reduces the risk. But we're concerned about next week once again, Ken.
02:12Unfortunately, this weather change is going to change again to the bad. We're going to definitely
02:18have an offshore flow get established by Monday, continue for much of next week. That means
02:25noticeably drier air taking over again. And it looks like two main wind threats. One sometime
02:30Monday, especially Monday night into Tuesday, and again maybe on Thursday into Thursday night.
02:37Those are kind of preliminary right now. The strength is somewhat still in question,
02:41but at least a moderate to maybe moderately strong Santa Ana is possible. Both those time periods
02:47with 40 to 60 mile per hour wind gusts at their highest in the typical places. And because of this,
02:53the National Weather Service offices in Los Angeles and San Diego have already issued their
02:57fire weather watch starting Monday morning. And we can show that to you here with that
03:01peach color that's just recently expanded all the way up into areas north of L.A.
03:05Ken, I know that it's not a slam dunk yet, but it seems to me that confidence in late this next
03:11week, the potential for rain, maybe even some mountain snow all the way down to the international
03:16border is increasing. What's your take on the latest? Yeah, the models really done an about
03:21phase for late next week by Friday or Saturday next week. We could be looking at a storm coming
03:26down from the north and perhaps producing some rain. And like you said, maybe even snow in the
03:31higher mountains. We're going to keep watch on that because that would be a very important thing
03:36to happen. I just hope it isn't too much too quick because that isn't welcome either at this point,
03:42because if we had a big rainstorm right now over the fire areas with all the ash, with all the
03:49debris and with the erosion possibilities, it would be a disaster on top of a disaster. So
03:55if we're going to get rain, let's get light amounts of rain, but nice and steady rain.
04:00And everything downhill from Altadena is highly populated. So that's a very good point there, Ken.
04:04Well, thanks for your insight all week long, all month long. We've had a lot to talk about
04:08this January. AccuWeather California expert Ken Clark. Thanks again. Thank you, Jeff.