Santa Ana winds are one of the nation's most notorious wind events and an ongoing weather hazard in Southern California.

The Santa Ana winds occur when there is high pressure to the east, in the Great Basin, and a low-pressure system off the coast. Air masses move from high pressure to low pressure, and the more extreme the difference in the pressure, the faster the winds blow. Topography also plays a role.

Santa Ana winds in Southern California are often-fierce winds that topple power lines and trees and can turn a spark into a raging wildfire.

What are the Santa Ana winds? Santa Ana winds are created when large areas of high pressure become established over the Great Basin in the interior of western America, which inclu

The ferocious Santa Ana winds that helped fuel the deadly wildfires around Los Angeles are forecast to ease later Wednesday, but they may return.

Firefighters are making progress slowing the major fires in the Los Angeles area that have killed five people, ravaged communities from the Pacific Coast to Pasadena and caused thousands of people to flee their homes.

Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region,

Devastating fires in the Los Angeles region are driven by Santa Ana winds blowing from California and Nevada’s interior deserts to the Pacific Ocean.