Strong gusts known as the Santa Ana winds bring dry air from the Great Basin area of the West into Southern California (a state in the U.S.).
The Santa Ana winds are strong, extremely dry downslope winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California.
They originate from cool, dry high-pressure air masses in the Great Basin.
The winds are known for the hot, dry weather that they bring in autumn (often the hottest of the year).
They often bring the lowest relative humidities of the year to coastal Southern California.
This low humidity, combined with the warm, compressionally-heated air mass, plus high wind speeds, create critical fire weather conditions.
