section_path: Background/Winds
section_name: Winds
paragraph_text: Winds
  
  The events included Santa Ana winds of exceptional intensity, with forecasted gusts reaching 50 to 80 miles per hour (80 to 130 km/h; 22 to 36 m/s) in populated areas of the Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including the San Gabriel Valley and the Los Angeles Basin which in prior wind events had been protected by their lower elevations. Higher elevations were predicted to experience even more extreme conditions, with wind speeds anticipated from 80 to 100 mph (130 to 160 km/h; 36 to 45 m/s). As the jet stream crossed mountain ranges in Southern California from north to south, mountain waves developed, accelerating wind speeds as air descended into the Los Angeles Basin and other nearby lowlands.
  
  The NWS Los Angeles office described the windstorm as potentially "life-threatening", predicting that winds would "accelerate to dangerous levels" beginning on the afternoon of January 7, and would last through early January 8 for Southern California. The NWS warned that the "destructive" winds would likely result in widespread power outages and downed trees. It predicted that it would be the region's "most destructive windstorm seen since 2011". By the morning of January 7, the NWS reported wind speeds of 84 mph (135 km/h; 38 m/s) on Magic Mountain Truck Trail in Santa Clarita, 62 mph (100 km/h; 28 m/s) in Escondido Canyon, and 55 mph (89 km/h; 25 m/s) at the Van Nuys Airport. The NWS reported at 6:19 p.m. that the windstorm could become Southern California's strongest wind event of 2025, especially in its valleys. US agency NOAA anticipated that wind speeds would be between 35 and 50 mph (56 and 80 km/h; 16 and 22 m/s). Wind gusts were recorded at 100 mph (160 km/h; 45 m/s) on Mount Lukens in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and at 98 mph (158 km/h; 44 m/s) in the Santa Monica Mountains.
  
  On January 11, at 1:06 p.m. PST, the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office issued a red flag warning for most Los Angeles and Ventura counties effective from 6 p.m. January 11 to 6 p.m. January 15, citing the re-intensification of Santa Ana winds and continued dry humidity. The office also issued a wind advisory from 7:04 p.m. PST to January 12 at 2 p.m., predicting sustained 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/h; 8.9 to 13 m/s) northeast winds with 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) gusts and isolated 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) gusts. On January 12, the NWS announced a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning from 4 a.m. on January 14 to 12 noon on January 15 for several regions in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The PDS warning was issued for predicted damaging northeastern and eastern wind gusts between 55 to 70 miles per hour (89 to 113 km/h) with continued low humidity conditions, which the report stated could lead to "extreme fire behavior" and "long range spotting".
  
  The events included Santa Ana winds of exceptional intensity, with forecasted gusts reaching 50 to 80 miles per hour (80 to 130 km/h; 22 to 36 m/s) in populated areas of the Los Angeles and Ventura counties, including the San Gabriel Valley and the Los Angeles Basin which in prior wind events had been protected by their lower elevations. Higher elevations were predicted to experience even more extreme conditions, with wind speeds anticipated from 80 to 100 mph (130 to 160 km/h; 36 to 45 m/s). As the jet stream crossed mountain ranges in Southern California from north to south, mountain waves developed, accelerating wind speeds as air descended into the Los Angeles Basin and other nearby lowlands.
  
  The NWS Los Angeles office described the windstorm as potentially "life-threatening", predicting that winds would "accelerate to dangerous levels" beginning on the afternoon of January 7, and would last through early January 8 for Southern California. The NWS warned that the "destructive" winds would likely result in widespread power outages and downed trees. It predicted that it would be the region's "most destructive windstorm seen since 2011". By the morning of January 7, the NWS reported wind speeds of 84 mph (135 km/h; 38 m/s) on Magic Mountain Truck Trail in Santa Clarita, 62 mph (100 km/h; 28 m/s) in Escondido Canyon, and 55 mph (89 km/h; 25 m/s) at the Van Nuys Airport. The NWS reported at 6:19 p.m. that the windstorm could become Southern California's strongest wind event of 2025, especially in its valleys. US agency NOAA anticipated that wind speeds would be between 35 and 50 mph (56 and 80 km/h; 16 and 22 m/s). Wind gusts were recorded at 100 mph (160 km/h; 45 m/s) on Mount Lukens in the eastern San Gabriel Mountains and at 98 mph (158 km/h; 44 m/s) in the Santa Monica Mountains.
  
  On January 11, at 1:06 p.m. PST, the NWS Los Angeles/Oxnard office issued a red flag warning for most Los Angeles and Ventura counties effective from 6 p.m. January 11 to 6 p.m. January 15, citing the re-intensification of Santa Ana winds and continued dry humidity. The office also issued a wind advisory from 7:04 p.m. PST to January 12 at 2 p.m., predicting sustained 20 to 30 mph (32 to 48 km/h; 8.9 to 13 m/s) northeast winds with 45 miles per hour (72 km/h) gusts and isolated 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) gusts. On January 12, the NWS announced a Particularly Dangerous Situation Red Flag Warning from 4 a.m. on January 14 to 12 noon on January 15 for several regions in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The PDS warning was issued for predicted damaging northeastern and eastern wind gusts between 55 to 70 miles per hour (89 to 113 km/h) with continued low humidity conditions, which the report stated could lead to "extreme fire behavior" and "long range spotting".