If you woke up this morning to the sound of your trash cans ghost-riding down the driveway or your patio furniture rearranged by an invisible hand, you aren't alone. It is seriously howling outside. Living in Southern California, we’re used to blue skies, but when the wind kicks up like this, it feels like the whole city is on edge.
So, why is it so windy in Los Angeles right now?
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Honestly, it’s a classic setup that we see nearly every January, but that doesn't make it any less annoying when you’re trying to keep a high-profile vehicle on the 5 freeway. Right now, we are in the middle of a moderate Santa Ana wind event. While these winds are famous for fueling fires in the fall, in the dead of winter, they mostly just bring weirdly high temperatures and a lot of dust.
The "Great Basin" pressure cook
The science behind this is basically a giant atmospheric tug-of-war. To our northeast, specifically over the Great Basin (think Nevada and Utah), there’s a massive area of high-pressure air. At the same time, we’ve got a lower-pressure system sitting just off the California coast.
Nature hates an imbalance.
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Because of that, the heavy, cool air from the desert starts rushing toward the coast to fill that low-pressure gap. It's like popping a balloon; the air has to go somewhere, and it goes fast. By the time it hits the Los Angeles basin, it has traveled hundreds of miles, picking up speed as it goes.
Why it gets so hot when it's windy
You might have noticed that even though it’s mid-January, it feels like summer. Local meteorologists, like Brian Lewis from the National Weather Service, have been tracking temperatures hitting the low-to-mid 80s in places like Pasadena and downtown LA.
This happens because of adiabatic heating.
As that desert air spills over the San Gabriel and Santa Susana mountains, it has to drop thousands of feet in elevation to reach the coast. When air sinks, it gets compressed. When you compress air, it heats up—fast. For every 1,000 feet the air descends, it warms by about 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit. By the time it hits your backyard in the Valley, it’s bone-dry and roasting.
The "Venturi Effect" in the canyons
If you live in Malibu, Santa Clarita, or near the Hollywood Hills, you’re likely getting hit much harder than people in, say, Long Beach. This is because of the Venturi Effect.
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Think of a garden hose. If you put your thumb over the end, the water comes out faster because you’ve narrowed the opening. Our mountain passes—like the Soledad, Cajon, and San Gorgonio—act like that thumb. They funnel the wind into tight corridors, accelerating 20 mph breezes into 50 or 60 mph gusts.
According to the latest NWS advisories, we are seeing:
- Northeast winds sustained at 20 to 30 mph.
- Isolated gusts reaching 45 to 55 mph in the mountains.
- Humidity levels dropping into the teens, making everything feel brittle.
Is this related to the recent rain?
Sort of, but not in the way you’d think. We’ve had some decent storms recently, and that actually makes the wind more dangerous. When the soil is saturated, tree roots lose their grip. A 40 mph gust that a healthy oak might have ignored in October can now topple it because the ground is soft.
This is why utility companies like Southern California Edison get so twitchy during these events. They often have to trigger Public Safety Power Shutoffs (PSPS) because a single downed branch on a live wire can start a disaster, even if the grass looks green from recent rains.
When will it actually stop?
The good news? This current spike is a relatively short-lived peak. Forecasters expect the strongest gusts to taper off by Wednesday afternoon, though the "offshore flow" (the air moving from land to sea) will linger through the weekend.
Expect the heat to stay for a few more days. We’re looking at record-breaking or near-record highs for the MLK holiday weekend before the jet stream finally shifts back.
How to handle the next 24 hours
Don't just wait for it to pass; there are a few things you should actually do to avoid a headache.
- Check your "unsecured objects." That means umbrellas, lightweight chairs, and those empty Amazon boxes you haven't recycled yet. They will become projectiles.
- Hydrate your skin and eyes. These winds are notoriously dry. If you wake up with a "Santa Ana headache," it’s often just dehydration from the moisture being sucked right out of you.
- Watch the 5 and 14 freeways. If you’re driving a truck or an SUV, the crosswinds in the Newhall Pass are no joke right now. Keep both hands on the wheel.
- Stay alert for smoke. Even though the fire risk is "low" compared to October, these winds can move a small brush fire miles in minutes.
The wind is a weird, haunting part of the Los Angeles experience—what Joan Didion famously called the "sinister" side of the city. For now, just keep your windows shut and wait for the sea breeze to return.