Wild weather arrived in Southern California Tuesday morning. Rain and snow in some areas will be followed by an afternoon of “life-threatening” winds and dangerous fire conditions.
“This is a rather bizarre forecast,” KTLA Meteorologist Henry DiCarlo said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and haven’t really seen a setup like this with rain and snow in the morning, fog which you would need an absence of winds to get, and then the threat of very windy conditions tonight … We have wind gusts that could be upwards of 100 mph at some of our highest elevation areas.”
The morning started off with snow flurries in the mountains and light showers causing some slick roadways inland.
“We do have some rain out there through the Inland Empire … We also have the chance of bringing some snow down to around 4,000 feet this morning,” Henry said.
The rain and snow arrived thanks to a small low-pressure system to our north-east but will likely move out of the area rather quickly.
Even with that going on, the main weather concern is a powerful Santa Ana wind event that officials have described as “life-threatening,” “extreme” and “destructive.”
“Damaging winds, fire concerns, all the things we talk about with Santa Anas, and now we’re going to raise the bar a little bit because it’s extremely strong,” Henry said. “This could be one of the strongest wind events that we have had in years.”
In preparation for the wind and heightened wildfire risks, CAL Fire is increasing staffing and putting resources in fire-prone areas ahead of time.
CAL Fire has deployed 45 additional fire engines and six hand crews from Northern California to bolster resources in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties. Local units are staffing extra engines, hand crews, bulldozers and water tenders around the clock, officials said.
The National Weather Service is issuing red flag warnings for much of Southern California on Tuesday and Wednesday due to concerns that a small spark could turn into an out-of-control wildfire.
The Franklin Fire, which scorched more than 4,000 acres and burned several homes in Malibu, erupted amid similar windy conditions in December.
Residents in fire-prone areas are encouraged to have evacuation plans, emergency go-bags and a strategy in place for pets.
For additional fire safety resources, visit ReadyForWildfire.org. Real-time updates on active fires and conditions can be found here.