Southern California Santa Ana Winds / Heat Wave

[weatherlover427]

Due to the Santa Ana winds today in southern California, it has become very hot here. It's over 100 here right now, less than 3 miles from the beach. If you think this is a joke, look at this:

[img]http://www.blowsomesteamoff.net/miscellaneous/effing_hot/100_0095%20(Small).JPG[/img]

No wonder they call the Santa Ana winds the "devil" winds.

[Aslkahuna]

The term Devil wind is a misnomer as the Santa Anas are named after the river and town by the same name in SoCA by the Spanish who first encountered them there. Another misconception is that they are hot desert winds when they actually arise from the development and presence of a dome of COLD air over the high deserts. They are downslope winds that heat by compression as they flow from actual lower to higher pressure and will warm at the dry adiabatic rate as they come downhill since the air at the source is initially bone dry. They are localized and blow strongest in and below the Canyons. Similar east winds in UT are called Canyon winds-a term I use for the similar SW winds we get here in the cool season off the Huachucas. The broader category these winds belong to is Föhn which include the Chinooks of the Western High Plains.

Steve

[wxmann_91]

I'm exhausted after returning from school, had to run two miles today in P.E. Unfortunately I have PE at the one of hottest times of the day - around 1:00 PM. And I'm not the leanest in my class, unlike others, running is not easy for me.

[weatherlover427]

It got even hotter than that during the course of the day here yesterday...



In case you can't read that, it says 108.9°. No joke either. Yesterday was incredibly hot, I couldn't believe it.

[Aslkahuna]

I experienced temperatures of 107F at the BEACH in San Diego during a Santa Ana in the early 1990's.

Steve

[weatherlover427]

Now for San Diego that is something to remember. That hardly ever happens down there. In fact the 109.4 we had here yesterday as our official (by me) high temperature was the 2nd highest high temp I have ever experienced here in Orange County, the highest being 113 in the summer of 1988 (and much further inland too). By comparison, today was a relatively "cool" 102 degrees.