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The 'Santa Ana winds' (or 'Santana winds') are warm, dry winds that characteristically appear in Southern California weather during autumn and early winter.

Contents

Meteorology

Santa Ana Fog

Local impact

Etymology

Santa Ana winds in popular culture

Television

Songs

Movies

Fiction

Misc.

See also

References

Meteorology

Santa Anas are a type of föhn wind, the result of air pressure buildup in the high-altitude Great Basin between the Sierra Nevada and the Rocky Mountains. This air mass spills out of the Great Basin and is pulled by gravity into the surrounding lowlands. The air circulates clockwise around the high pressure area bringing winds from the east and northeast to Southern California (the reverse of the westerly winds characteristic of the latitude).
It is often said that the air is heated and dried as it passes through the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, but according to meteorologists this is a popular misconception. The Santa Ana winds usually form during autumn and early spring when the desert is relatively cold, although they may form at virtually any time of year. The air heats up due to adiabatic heating while being compressed during its descent. While the air has already been dried by orographic lift prior to reaching the Great Basin, the relative humidity of the air declines rapidly as it descends and warms in its final stages as it passes over the Transverse and Peninsular Ranges.
The air is then forced down the mountain slopes out towards the Pacific coast; the air mass is further heated by compression as it drops in altitude before reaching the Los Angeles Basin western San Diego County and Tijuana (Baja California) at typical speeds of 35 knots. The southern California coastal region gets its hottest weather of the year during autumn while Santa Ana winds are blowing. During Santa Ana conditions it is typically hotter along the coast than in the deserts and the humidity plummets to less than 15%.

As the Santa Ana winds are channeled through the mountain passes they can approach hurricane force. The combination of wind, heat, and dryness turns the chaparral into explosive fuel for the infamous wildfires the region is known for. Wildfires fanned by Santa Ana winds burned 721,791 acres (2,921 km²) in two weeks during October 2003.
Although the winds often have a destructive nature, they have some positive benefits as well. They cause cold water to rise from the bottom of the ocean to the top, bringing with it many nutrients that ultimately benefit local fisheries. As the winds blow over the ocean, sea surface temperatures drop about 4 °C (7 °F), indicating an upwelling of deep ocean water. Chlorophyll concentrations in the surface water go from negligible, in the absence of winds, to very active at more than 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter in the presence of the winds.

Santa Ana Fog

A 'Santa Ana fog' is derivative phenomenon in which a ground fog settles in Southern California during the end of a Santa Ana wind episode. When Santa Ana conditions prevail, with winds in the lower two to three kilometers (1.25-1.8 m) of the atmosphere from the north through east, the lower atmosphere continues to be dry. But as soon as the Santa Ana winds cease, the cool and moist marine layer forms rapidly. The air in the marine layer becomes very moist and fog occurs.^[1]

Local impact

To the north, in the Santa Barbara area, the Santa Ana winds are weaker and are usually held at bay by topography: the local mountains offer no prominent outlets, in the form of passes or river valleys, from the elevated inland source areas. However, a variant of the Santa Ana wind, known locally as Sundowner winds, often invade the area. These are downslope winds which occur when a high pressure area lies due north of Santa Barbara, and occur most frequently in the late spring to early summer, and are strongest at sunset, or "sundown," hence their name. The hottest temperature ever recorded in North America outside Death Valley, 133 °F (56 °C), was unofficially recorded on June 17, 1859 during a Sundowner wind. However, weather instruments during that period were unreliable and the actual temperature was closer to 109 °F (43 °C), the highest official reading. Most meteorologists do not recognize the historical record.
In the Brookings and Gold Beach areas along the southern Oregon coast they are called the 'Brookings Effect' (or 'Chetco Effect'); and in the northern Plains such winds off the Rocky Mountains are called Chinook winds.
In the Los Angeles Basin, the winds are often credited with the extremely high visibility experienced in the area during the winter, in contrast to the hazy, smoggy summers. The winds are also associated with some of the area's largest and deadliest wildfires, including the state's largest fire on record, the Cedar Fire, as well as the Laguna Fire, Old Fire, Esperanza Fire and the Great Fire of 1889.
The adverse pulmonary health impacts have been understood by local doctors for decades; the winds pick up and transmit grit, dust, pollens, mold spores and other irritants and allergens for considerable distances. Residents regularly notice a build-up of dust in their homes and grit on their properties during these periods, which are frequent during the winter.

Etymology

Santa Ana winds may get their name from the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, the Santa Ana River or Santa Ana Canyon, along which the winds are particularly strong. There are also claims that the original form is ''Santana winds'', from the Spanish ''vientos de Sanatanas'' ("winds of Satan", ''Sanatanas'' being a rarer form of ''Satanás''), and that this in turn is a translation of a native name in some unspecified language.

Santa Ana winds in popular culture

Television

★ The above Chandler passage is read by Chris Stevens (John Corbett) at the beginning of the episode "Ill Wind" of the TV series ''Northern Exposure''.

★ This passage is also quoted by Ed Asner in his role as Lou Grant in ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' as an example of how to write prose.

★ Kitty's fear of the winds were featured in the "Date Night" episode of the ABC series ''Brothers & Sisters''.

★ Several references made in the hit TV show ''Beverly Hills, 90210''.

Songs

★ The 1970 Tim Buckley song "Venice Beach" includes the lyrics "White heat of swaying day/Dark slap of conga cries/'Come out and breathe as one'/Salt sea and fiddles drone/Out on the dancing stone/While the Santanas blow/Sing the music boats in the bay."

★ The Beach Boys song "Santa Ana Winds" appears on their 1980 album Keepin' the Summer Alive.

★ Bad Religion mentions the winds, using their nickname "murder winds," in the song "Los Angeles Is Burning" from the album ''The Empire Strikes First''. "When the hills of Los Angeles are burning/ Palm trees are candles in the murder winds/ So many lives are on the breeze/ Even the stars are ill at ease/ And Los Angeles is burning."

★ There is a reference made to the winds in the Steely Dan song, "Babylon Sisters" ".... here come those Santa Ana Winds again."

★ The song "LA Woman" by the Doors references taking a look around "See which way the wind blows" and contains imagery in which the city's "hair is burnin' hills are filled with fire."

★ The song "Summer Rain" by Belinda Carlisle has the lyrics "I remember the rain on our skin. And his kisses hotter than the Santa Ana Winds."

★ The song "Catch My Disease" by Ben Lee has the lyrics "She told me about the winds from Santa Ana/ And that's the way I like it."

★ The Santa Ana Winds are referred to in the song "I Love L.A" by Randy Newman: "And the Santa Ana Winds blowing hot from the north..."

★ Rancid makes reference to the winds in the song "Brad Logan" on the ''South Park Chef Aid'' album. "California sun has sunk/ behind the Anaheim hills; here comes the night/ I was high on junk/ and the warm winds of Santa Ana feel alright."

★ The song "Mansfield" by Elton John mentions a "California moon" and contains the lyrics "The Santa Ana winds blew warm into your room".

★ Survivor has an atmospheric song named "Santa Ana Winds" that refers to a disastrous woman.

★ Danish band Mew's song "The Zookeeper's Boy" refers to the winds in the lyric "Santa Ana winds bring seasickness."

★ Jason Mraz's "Silent Love Song" refers to the Santa Ana winds.

★ The a capella group The Bobs' song "Santa Ana Woman" has the line "The Santa Ana winds had come back / And the whole city of LA was acting like it had PMS."

Movies

★ In the 1978 film ''Big Wednesday'', the Santa Ana winds are mentioned in the opening sequence.

★ In the 1994 film ''Mixed Nuts'', the Santa Ana winds are mentioned briefly.

★ In the 2006 film ''The Holiday'', the Santa Ana winds are constantly shown, and Jack Black's character 'Miles' mentions that when they blow, "all bets are off" and "anything can happen".

★ In the 1995 film ''My Family'', the Santa Ana Winds are mentioned in the sequence when Chucho (Esai Morales), a gang member, is shot dead by the LAPD.

★ In the 1983 film ''Breathless'', the Santa Ana Winds are described by Jesse Lujack (Richard Gere) to Monica Poiccard (Valérie Kaprisky).

Fiction

★ The Santa Ana winds are important to the plot of the book ''White Oleander'' by Janet Fitch.

Misc.

★ There is also a band named The Santa Ana Winds Youth Band.

★ An upscale version of the Volkswagen Passat was sometimes called the ''Santana''. Volkswagen has often named its cars for winds or currents.

See also

★ Chinook wind

★ Diablo wind

★ Föhn wind

★ Katabatic wind

★ Sundowner wind

References

1.
★ Leipper, D. F., Fog development at San Diego, California, J. Mar. Research, 7, 337-346, 1948.

★ Leipper, D. F., Fog on the United States West Coast: a review. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 75, 229-240.


★ University of California, Los Angeles, Meteorology Dept.: ''Santa Ana Winds''

★ What are the ''Santana'' or ''Santa Ana'' Winds?

★ NASA Satellite Finds Something Fishy About Santa Ana Winds