Don't let the Santa Ana winds blow you away!

Santa Ana winds are the local name given to a more widespread weather event found in many parts of the world. Named by settlers Southern California in the 19th century, they noticed strong periodic winds coming from the Santa Ana River canyon pouring into what is present day Orange County. In fact, this weather phenomenon is known by atmospheric scientists as a Katabatic wind storm. In general, these are density and gravity driven wind storms that flow from areas of high elevation to lower elevations after a build up of high pressure. In Southern California, this high pressure builds up over the high desert and pours into Los Angeles basin through mountain passes, such as Cajon Pass and Morongo Valley. Dry katabatic winds in Southern California can make for dangerous fire conditions, and in fact can change where and how often fires occur (Kolden & Abotzoglou, 2018)

Katabatic winds are also often found forming on the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Off the coast of Antarctica, these winds are instrumental in creating "polynyas", biological hot spots where the wind breaks up the ice and allows for nutrients to reach the surface (Li et al., 2016). Though not all katabatic winds are strong, they can result in hurricane force winds.