Monday January 13, 2025
San Francisco Chronicle —
No significant rainfall is in sight for California for weeks as a record-dry start to the wet season continues across the southern half of the state. Wildfire danger remains extraordinarily high across Southern California, with more strong Santa Ana winds expected Monday through Wednesday.
“The rare combination of very strong winds, extremely low relative humidity and very dry fuels will support an extended period of widespread critical fire-weather conditions over much of Southern California,” the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center wrote in its long-range fire weather forecast.
A stubborn atmospheric blocking pattern that has persisted since Jan. 4 is likely to continue through at least Jan. 26, preventing any storms from nearing the Golden State. With a clockwise-spinning high-pressure system just off the West Coast, storms are being shunted up toward Canada before dropping southward east of the Rocky Mountains.
Blocking patterns often persist for days, or even weeks. This would promote continued Santa Ana winds across Southern California.