Drought is back in Southern California — a region that has not seen significant rain for nearly nine months — and the remarkable dryness has made the landscape vulnerable to winter wildfires. Santa Ana winds could bring a serious fire weather threat this week. Pacific storms that typically arrive by November or December to end the fire season have instead targeted Northern California and the Pacific Northwest over the past two months, leaving the southern part of the state at real risk. And impending offshore winds could end up being the strongest wind event of the fire season. While Santa Ana winds tend to strengthen in winter as cold weather systems dive into the interior West and drive dry winds into Southern California, conditions are typically much wetter here in January.

Other drought articles:

• Los Angeles Times:  With negligible rain in 8 months, Southern California swings toward drought
• Sacramento Bee: Nearly 60% of California is ‘abnormally dry’ to start 2025. Where are drought impacts worst?
• SFGate: ‘Abnormally dry’: Map shows where California drought is the worst
• Grist: Three-quarters of the world’s land is drying out, ‘redefining life on Earth’
• Weather West blog: As extreme California precipitation dipole persists, a high-end offshore wind/fire weather event may unfold in SoCal this week