Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Fierce Santa Ana winds continue to fan Southern California fires
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 16:25 GMT le 15 novembre 2008 +3
A strong Santa Ana wind event continues over Southern California, fanning two major fires that have caused over $100 million in damage near Los Angeles. Wind gusts up to 76 mph were clocked early this morning at Camp Nine near the Sylmar fire, which is burning in the mountains about twenty miles north of downtown Los Angeles. Yesterday, winds gusted to 72 mph near the Montecito Hills fire in Santa Barbara County. A Fire Weather Warning continues for the Los Angeles area, and high wind warning for winds of 25 to 45 mph with gusts to 60 mph have been posted for surrounding mountain areas. A strong high pressure system has built in to the north and east, and the clockwise flow of air around this high pressure system will drive strong east-to-west offshore winds from the mountains to the ocean over the Los Angeles metropolitan area through Sunday morning. As air drops out of the mountains, it will warm due to compression as its pressure increases. The warm winds have caused several record highs to be set, including 91° in Burbank yesterday. Very low humidities in the 5-10% range have contributed to the dangerous fire conditions. Fire conditions will ease on Sunday as high pressure weakens, allowing winds to slow down. However, winds are not forecast to reverse direction and blow moist air inland from the ocean until Tuesday.


Figure 1. Visible satellite image from NASA's Terra satellite taken on Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 10:45 am PST. Smoke from the Sylmar fire 20 miles north of Los Angeles has drifted out over the Catalina Islands. A smaller plume of smoke from the "Freeway Fire" in Orange County is also visible.

Tropical update
In the tropics, there are no threat areas to discuss, and none of the reliable models are calling for tropical storm formation over the next seven days. However, it is possible that an extratropical low expected to form south of the Azores Islands on Monday will be able to gradually acquire tropical characteristics during the week, and could become a subtropical storm late next week. Such a storm is not likely to threaten any land areas.

Jeff Masters
Sayre Fire (Energis)
This is a view of the Sayre Fire from a distance.
Sayre Fire
Southern California Fires (SBKaren)
Traveling north on Pacific Coast Highway and looking east once again. Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge in the background. Closer to home when this picture was taken. But it's a clear view of how smokey the air can be in one area, and just a couple of miles over - it's clear blue skies. Just awful.
Southern California Fires
Categories: Fire
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151. Orcasystems 17:01 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Good Morning... afternoon.. evening all :)

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152. SOCALm 17:07 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
UPDATE for "FreewayComplex" Fire.

Firefighters have laid out a containment zone for the fire. The larger Carona/Yorba Linda fire has merged to the considerably smaller Brea Fire. The 91, 55, 57 and 241 freeways are still closed or rerouted around the area of the fire.

Winds are expected to decrease further today but will head in southwestern direction. this has the potential to create fire tunnels (think dirt devils made of fire) as the wind currents collide.

Temperatures are expected to decrease after today and onshore winds will come later today bringing much needed humidty to the atmosphere. there is no probability of rain forcast until a week from this Monday.

On a lighter note: to surfermom, my wife and I surf San Clemente and occassionally San Onofre here. Tides have been much higher the last few days because of lunar conditions, it's been good surfing and the warm weather is a bonus. we never surfed the east coast when we lived in NC. i did start surfing a little when i lived in west Michigan along the Lake Michigan shoreline, but you could only do it about this time of year. the winds would kick up the waves on lake michigan up around 6-10 feet. the water was cold, cold, COLD, usually about 45-50 dergrees. stay safe!
153. CaicosRetiredSailor 17:23 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Quoting SOCALm:
UPDATE for "FreewayComplex" Fire.

KCAL9 CBS-LA (Air)
http://cbstv-0009-live.wm.llnwd.net/cbstv_0009z_live
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154. surfmom 17:24 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
149Rob - that's a belly laugh - pls note... I did send the young bucks out first. hee, hee....and I think I'm stalling presently..... but kitchen clean-up is done, critters are fed....so guess I am out of excuses.... wind seems to be laying down here too -- you must be located closer to me then I thought. I hoping to go to the spot near Stillwaiting - if the winds quiets I might be able to. tick tock --now is the time to stop thinking & commit.-- I'm on the move - catch you all later
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155. surfmom 17:30 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
B/4 I go Ohhhhh Orca - surfacing at long last!!! -- figured you were swamped with that nasty weather this past week. I'm getting ready to jump out and get wet --I'm gonna look like a mini-orca w/all the damn rubber/neoprene I got to put on.... sheesh still getting some strong wind here... I'm out for a while... a girl gotta do what a girl gotta do (spouse is pleased - not spending money in the mall xmas shopping today LOL --but when he opens the empty refridge... might sing a different tune) hee hee. Good Afternoon to you all, when you hear a shriek from the cold ---it's me!!!
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156. Orcasystems 17:37 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Hmm lets see if this works



Click to enlarge
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157. NorthxCakalaky 17:38 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
North Carolina Snow totals

Location 24 hour time/date comments
snowfall of
(inches) measurement


... Avery County...
Beech Mountain 3.0 700 am 11/16 coop
Banner Elk 1.0 700 am 11/16 coop
Flat Springs 0.7 700 am 11/16 1 E coop

... Graham County...
Robbinsville T 700 am 11/16 coop

... Madison County...
Marshall T 700 am 11/16 coop

... Swain County...
Bryson City T 700 am 11/16 coop

... Yancey County...
Mt Mitchell 2.0 700 am 11/16 coop


158. Drakoen 17:39 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
The UKMET and CMC look to try to develop something in the southern Caribbean. The tail end of a strong surface cold front should reach the Caribbean and may help to instigate something down there later in the week. Such a system would have little room to move as the upper level trough behind the front increases shear over most of the Caribbean.
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159. hurristat 18:02 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Snowing pretty hard outside now...: ) there was a blog hole
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160. HadesGodWyvern 18:42 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
hurristat: according to Typhoon 2000 the only thing that will change is the naming of the system from typhoon number to cyclonic storm

Typhoon Number 2008-21 to BOB07-2008.
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161. hurristat 18:49 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Quoting HadesGodWyvern:
hurristat: according to Typhoon 2000 the only thing that will change is the naming of the system from typhoon number to cyclonic storm

Typhoon Number 2008-21 to BOB07-2008.


So if it was a Typhoon, it would become a Cyclone? That's it? That's what I thought, but I just wanted to double-check
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162. hurristat 20:11 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Another blog hole!!
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163. GeoffreyWPB 20:15 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
JAKARTA, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake struck waters off eastern Indonesia early Monday, briefly generating tsunami warnings for coastlines within 600 miles (1,000 kilometers) of the epicenter.

Thousands of people in nearby coastal towns fled homes, hotels and hospitals in panic, but there were no immediate reports of serious damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's magnitude at 7.5 and said it struck 54 miles (135 kilometers) from the nearest city, Gorantalo, located on Sulawesi island. It was centered 13 miles (21 kilometers) beneath the sea and was followed by two strong aftershocks.
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164. surfmom 20:50 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Back from surfing the Gulf -- Brain Freeze -- is the adjective. There will be no whine/wine...but Pottery's recipe instead:
1/2 cup rum, 1/2 cup hot water,2 spoons sugar,1 dash bitters
I am off to defrost
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165. FLWeatherFreak91 21:09 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Wow. the NWS continues to forecast lower and lower temps. for west-central florida. Tampa at 41, Lutz at 35, and me in Odessa at 35. Frost is possible from north of I4 and east of vet/suncoast
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166. Stormchaser2007 21:21 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
NYC may have to watch out next week....

UPPER TROUGH MOVES OFFSHORE BY THU MORNING...AND UPPER LEVEL PATTERN
WILL BRIEFLY FLATTEN OUT. STRONG SHORTWAVE WILL BE DIGGING INTO THE
NORTHEAST THU NIGHT...CARVING OUT YET ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH OVER THE
AREA FOR THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO THE START OF THE WEEKEND.
MEANWHILE...SFC LOW PRES WILL BE TRACKING FROM THE GREAT LAKES INTO
THE MID-ATLANTIC ON THU BEFORE RAPIDLY INTENSIFYING OFFSHORE ON FRI.
ECMWF KEEPS THE LOW WELL SOUTH AND EAST OF LONG ISLAND...WHEREAS THE
GFS KEEPS SFC HIGH PRES OVER THE AREA INTO THE WEEKEND...THEN LOW
PRES RAPIDLY INTENSIFIES OVER THE NORTHEAST ON SAT. SHOULD THE GFS
PAN OUT...THAT COULD PRODUCE AN EARLY SEASON WINTER STORM FOR THE
REGION. 1000-500 MB THICKNESS LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO BE ONLY AROUND
520 DAM...ALONG WITH 850 MB TEMPERATURES AROUND -13C.
THE ECMWF...
HOWEVER...HAS SFC HIGH PRES OVER THE MIDWEST ON FRI...BUILDING EAST
AND BECOMING ENTRENCHED OVER THE EAST COAST ON SAT/SUN...AS SEVERAL
SHORTWAVES SLIDE ACROSS THE REGION. THIS SOLUTION IS PREFERRED TO
THE MUCH MORE AGGRESSIVE GFS.

WILL CARRY LOW CHANCE POPS ON THU AS SHORTWAVE AND WEAK SFC LOW DIGS
INTO THE REGION...THEN WILL CARRY "HIDDEN" SLIGHT CHANCE POPS IN THE
FCST FOR THE WEEKEND AS SEVERAL SHORTWAVES ROTATE INTO THE AREA
AROUND STRONG SFC HIGH PRES.

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167. CaicosRetiredSailor 21:26 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Shuttle 400 ft. from docking
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168. hurristat 21:27 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
how was the surf surfmom... its snowing here in MI, and we have about 1/2 to an inch on the ground here
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169. Barefootontherocks 21:42 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Hi DocM and all here present,
Thanks, Doc, for blogging about this.

Los Angeles basin has to be filling with smoke from both Sayre/Sylmar and O.C. fires. Bad air quality for sure. In these situations, I worry about the firefighters, with the winds and all. Hope weather will improve with less wind and more humidity. Many high temp records set in SoCal yesterday.

L.A. Times has some good info and links for fire maps and news.
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170. Drakoen 21:51 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
I hope this happens:
Link
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171. hurricanemaniac123 21:57 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Quoting Drakoen:
I hope this happens:
Link


That's coming right at me!
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172. SBKaren 22:30 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Believe it or not our skies look better today than they did yesterday. Still very hazy, smokey, but I don't see the dark, dark smoke I saw yesterday.

There are ashes everywhere. We went for a walk this morning and just stepping on them caused them to rise in the air. Air is still bad, eyes still burn, throat a bit sore - so just taking it easy.

Can't believe my photo made it up above :) While I'm impressed to be highlighted by that, I wish I didn't have that picture to share, because then that would mean there would be no fires. So many homes have been lost...it's just a tragedy.

No more strong winds though, and THAT is a blessing to be sure.
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173. Skyepony (Mod) 22:31 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Noul~ another with some really high cloud tops. The bad thing about this was they were just unindated by an event that ended yesterday, before this storm even bagan pulling together, with a high tital surge & rains that killed 11 & flooded thousands of homes. Vietnam is having a bad week weather wise.
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174. Skyepony (Mod) 22:35 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
SBKaren~ I can believe your photo made it up there:) Nice account in your blog too. I hate to see you dealing with it. Ash kicking up when you walk..when ya thought you couldn't want rain anymore. Hope ya'll see gentle, steady rain that drizzles with no end for days real soon.
Member Since: 10 août 2005 Posts: 144 Comments: 29374
175. SBKaren 22:54 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Skye - we aren't projected to have any until early next week - and that's a big maybe. At this point I'll take the marine layer and fog that I usually hate because the moisture makes my hair frizz. We could use any moisture in our air right now.
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176. GeoffreyWPB 23:28 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
High today in West Palm..64....supposed to be 10 degrees warmer tomorrow...Beautiful weather!!!!
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177. Orcasystems 23:54 GMT le 16 novembre 2008    
Its dead in here today :(

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178. pottery 00:01 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Greetings, Orca and all.
Well, it seems that the only weather in the Trop. Atl, just about, is overhead me. 3.5 inches in 2 days, still cloudy, and more to come overnight and tomorrow.
Its all very good.
Spent the day entertaining good friends, with all the required ingredients thrown in. Food, grog, laffs, music.
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179. TampaSpin 00:08 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Good evening everyone.
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180. TampaSpin 00:10 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Looks like Sibera to me.......lol

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181. Stormchaser2007 00:13 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting TampaSpin:
Looks like Sibera to me.......lol



Wow...thats cold.
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182. pottery 00:19 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
LOL, that image of temps in the US.
What ever happened to that theory about Global Warming ??
Guess some people would like some of it, before the Winter is done.
Looks to be a cold one, so keep warm. That means turn up all your heaters guys, this current oil price is hurting the likes of little old me.
heheheheh
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183. GeoffreyWPB 00:23 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
any snow forcast for florida?
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184. Thundercloud01221991 00:27 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting GeoffreyWPB:
any snow forcast for florida?


no but lots of snow up here in W NY

I am expecting close to a foot of snow
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185. GeoffreyWPB 00:29 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Thunder..is that much snow this time of year considered unusual? Native born West Palm guy here. Where are you?
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186. Thundercloud01221991 00:33 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting GeoffreyWPB:
Thunder..is that much snow this time of year considered unusual? Native born West Palm guy here. Where are you?



yes that amount of snow is unusual this early in the year

I live right outside of Rochester, NY.
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187. GeoffreyWPB 00:36 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
My mom grew up in Rochester.
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188. Drakoen 00:37 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
If it's going to snow in Florida it would happen in Janruary. This year seems to have a early start so might have to push the time frame, for something like that to occur, back.
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189. Stormchaser2007 00:39 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting Thundercloud01221991:



yes that amount of snow is unusual this early in the year

I live right outside of Rochester, NY.


Wow you guys have a chance of snow every day this week.
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190. eddye 00:40 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
how cold is it going to get in west palm beach 42
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191. Drakoen 00:40 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting Stormchaser2007:


Wow you guys have a chance of snow every day this week.


A pretty good chance of snow too...
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192. GeoffreyWPB 00:42 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Drak...do you believe this colder than usual weather across the country is going to be a trend this season or just an anomaly?
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193. Stormchaser2007 00:44 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting Drakoen:


A pretty good chance of snow too...


Thats pretty impressive. Hopefully when I visit my family up north it will look something like that. Cant even remember the last time in snowed in Florida.
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194. GeoffreyWPB 00:44 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
10-day forcast for west palm brings the coldest temp. to 49 Wednesday morning. A few degrees colder away from the coast.
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195. Stormchaser2007 00:46 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
12z GFS shows a pretty good storm along the Eastern states.


18z GFS still showing an early snowstorm along the Mid-Atlantic states. I doubt it will happen this way though....

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196. eddye 00:46 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
geofreey wpb broward will get to 35
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198. GeoffreyWPB 00:47 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
From Wiki for West Palm...

The lowest temperature ever recorded in the city was 24 F (-2.8 C) on January 19, 1977, a date which also recorded measurable snow; and January 20, 1985 which was accompanied by a heavy frost. Other notable freezes which damaged the area's lucrative winter vegetable industry occurred in 1983, 1989, 1997 and 2006.
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199. Drakoen 00:47 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting GeoffreyWPB:
Drak...do you believe this colder than usual weather across the country is going to be a trend this season or just an anomaly?


I would have to see more of the season first. Would interesting thing that was aforementioned was the deeper than normal Aleutian low, lower than normal 500mb geopotential heights which is observed in seasons that have many Artic breakouts such as the one that occurred in 1977.
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200. Stormchaser2007 00:50 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting GeoffreyWPB:
10-day forcast for west palm brings the coldest temp. to 49 Wednesday morning. A few degrees colder away from the coast.

Yeah its gonna get pretty dang cold here....


.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 237 PM EST SUN NOV 16 2008/

SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUE NIGHT...COLD FRONT ACROSS THE
FLORIDA STRAITS SHOULD CONTINUE TO MOVE SOUTH WITH DRY/COOL AIR
CONTINUED TO BE ADVECTED OVER MAINLAND S. FLORIDA. NO PRECIP
EXPECTED DURING THIS PERIOD. MAIN IMPACT WILL BE ON TEMP FORECAST
AND FIRE WEATHER (MORE ON FIRE WEATHER LATER). WITH CLEAR SKIES
AND SLIGHTLY LIGHTER WIND SPEED...RADIATIONAL COOLING COULD
ENHANCE THE EFFECT OF THE COLD AIR ADVECTION. MIN TEMPS COULD FALL
TO THE LOW/MID 50S OVER ERN METRO AREAS, L/M 40S WEST COAST AND
EVEN M/U 30S NORTHERN INTERIOR TONIGHT. MINS COULD BE 3 TO 5
DEGREES WARMER TUESDAY NIGHT.

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201. GeoffreyWPB 00:50 GMT le 17 novembre 2008    
Quoting eddye:
geofreey wpb broward will get to 35


Not forcasted as of yet..BTW, you still go to school in cold weather...:)
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About JeffMasters
Jeff co-founded the Weather Underground in 1995 while working on his Ph.D. He flew with the NOAA Hurricane Hunters from 1986-1990.

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