Sundowner winds have been fueling the destructive blaze in the SantaBarbara, Calif., area recently. Sundowner winds are similar to Santa Ana winds,in the sense that high pressure interacting with lower pressure offshore sendsgusty winds through mountain and canyon areas of Southern California.The placement of the high determines whether the winds will be Santa Anas orSundowners. A high moving into the Great Basin will trigger Santa Ana winds,while a high positioned over the Pacific Northwest will lead to the Sundownerwinds.
In the Sundowner wind case, air will flow away from the high towards lowerpressure off the Southern California coast. The greater the pressuredifference, the stronger the winds. The air will travel down the Santa Ynezmountains to the coast, warming in the process. This warmed air has senttemperatures soaring into the 100s in Santa Barbara Wednesday and Thursday.
Temperatures for the coastal city typically only rise into the lower 70s thistime of year.
When temperatures are at their peak values in Santa Barbara late in theafternoon, the pressure of the air is at its lowest level. A significantdifference in pressure between the high and the coast will result, causingSundowner winds to increase. The winds will continue to gust strong through thenight before subsiding some the following morning.
Story by AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Kristina Pydynowski
