What Causes Santa Ana Winds

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The Santa Ana winds develop from an atmospheric pressure pattern, usually over the southwestern parts of the United States. Low pressure becomes lower off the coast as high pressure builds up over the intermountain areas to the east of southern California. The wind then blows in a circular motion, around the high pressure and moves toward the low pressure out toward the west.

This sudden drop in pressure causes the temperature to rise because of the increase in pressure with the drop. The air becomes much drier as the air warms up and this is because there is no moisture in the air at the time.

Strong winds having an easterly direction can form, depending on the gradient of pressure between the high pressure center and low pressure off the coast.

One hundred mile winds that are hot and wet have been reported, in some instances.

Which Direction Do Santa Ana Winds Blow

The Santa Ana winds are a type of Chinook wind that blows in many areas of the world that are close to mountains, and August is usually the month when these winds begin blowing, because of the elevated pressure system forms over the Pacific Northwest and over Mexico, where the low pressure forms. This north and south pressure variation builds winds that are strong and causes them to spill over the Sierra Nevada Mountains from the direction of the northeast.

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This air falls from the mountains and compresses, and this causes it to warm up and decrease in relative humidity. The air is already mostly dry because it’s in the desert, and this warming creates very low relative humidity.

Large amounts of evaporation and vegetative transpiration from the Santa Ana can cause the soil to become extremely dry and there becomes a higher risk of fires in the state of California. State senior editor, Andy Bowers (Bowers, 2003) explains the California weather phenomenon known as Santa Ana winds. “It’s what’s been stoking the fires in the region.”

We learn from Universe Today, (Universe Today, 2004) that “the Santa Ana winds, which blow across Southern California, are known to cause dry, fire-hazard conditions inland. New data gathered by NASA’s Quikscat satellite and its sea winds instrument shows that these same winds can help stimulate the marine environment. The strong winds blow from the land out to the ocean, bringing nutrients to the surface. Quikscat was able to measure these winds.

These Santa Ana winds blow treacherously each year, while they cause cold water to rise from the ocean which brings many nutrients that benefit fisheries.

The same article reveals the satellite observations of the Santa Ana winds effects on the ocean, during three windy days in February 2003, and according to these findings, “Quickscat was able to identify the fine features of the coastal Santa Ana wind jets. It identified location, strength and extent, which other weather prediction products lack the resolution in consistently to show, and marooned ocean buoys lack sufficient coverage to fully represent.”

El Nino is an oscillation of the ocean-atmosphere system that is located in the tropical Pacific which ultimately affects the weather across the world.

Increased rainfall across the southern edge of the United States and Peru is due to the consequences of El Nino and has caused flooding, droughts in the West Pacific that sometimes causes brushfires in Australia.

It is extremely important to observe the weather conditions in the tropical Pacific. This area being closely monitored is crucial in predicting climatic changes for short time spans of up to a year of weather predictions.

NOAA, in providing essential information, operates a system of buoys for measuring temperatures, winds and currents near the equator. Daily transmission of information is sent from these buoys and is accessible to scientists and researchers, who predict the weather conditions.

When El Nino conditions are normal, the trade winds blow in the direction of the west and across the tropical Pacific and these winds add up surface water that is warm in the west Pacific and the surface of the ocean is close to one half of a meter higher in Indonesia than it is at Ecuador.

During El Nino, normal, local weather patterns are changed. This disruption causes the trade winds to weaken and reduces the upswelling of cool waters in the eastern Pacific and it allows the pool of warmer water in the west to move eastward and toward South America.

The Eastern Pacific and Central atmospheric pressure gradients lose strength close to the equator, which causes these trade winds to weaken.

The ocean water temperature, near the surface is close to 8 degrees Celsius, higher in the west, while colder temperatures are reported off the coast of South America and this is due to the upwelling of cooler water which comes from the deeper levels in the ocean. The cold water is very rich in nutrients and supports higher amounts of productivity for various marine ecosystems and fisheries.

Fisherman have been noticing the effects of El Nino for many years. During the months of December and January, they noticed that the ocean current was much warmer and they also saw that this occurred every year, during the same period of time, which caused the amount of fish in the water to decrease. Rainfall is discovered in the rising air that is over the warmest water and the east Pacific is mostly dry.

Fishermen were the first to name the weather condition, “El Nino” which stands for “little boy“. They offered this name because El Nino showed up every year at the same time, close to Christmas.

During El Nino, the trade winds grow calm in the western and central Pacific and leads to a depression of the thermo cline toward and in the west.

At one time, El Nino was thought to have only affected areas in Peru, but later it was obvious that El Nino had a much broader range than anyone had ever suspected.

The El Nino Southern Oscillation intensifies during different time periods, where many weather patterns are changed to great degrees and sometimes causes damage to many regions in the world.

Meteorologists depend on NOAA, which is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, because it has the responsibility of providing weather forecasts to the nation. These predictions can better enable people in areas around the nation to be equipped in preparing for dangerous weather conditions which can greatly affect their region. These weather conditions can range from droughts to severe storms across the world.