Santa Ana winds, dangerous fire weather conditions return to SoCal

LOS ANGELES - Powerful winds gusted across parts of SoCal Monday, driving up concerns about possible wildfires, with an even stronger Santa Ana wind event anticipated for later this week.

A red flag warning of critical fire danger conditions was in effect until 6 p.m. Monday in the San Gabriel Mountains, the Antelope Valley (14) and Golden State (5) freeway corridors, the Santa Clarita Valley, Malibu Coast, Calabasas, the San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains Recreational Area.

The strongest winds happened Sunday evening to Monday afternoon across Los Angeles and Ventura counties, according to the National Weather Service. 

"Northeasterly winds gusting 55-80 MPH in the mountains and 35-55 MPH across the valleys are expected at the peak of the Santa Ana event," forecasters said. 

"With the strong winds, relative humidity will drop into the teens and low 20s. The strong winds and low humidity will combine with critically dry fuels to bring widespread critical fire weather conditions to many areas of Ventura and Los Angeles counties, resulting in Red Flag Warnings. If a fire starts, there will likely be rapid fire growth."

According to the National Weather Service, wind gusts topping 50 mph were recorded in the early morning hours Monday in the Santa Monica and San Gabriel Mountains.

Winds are expected to die down again by Thursday afternoon, with calmer weather anticipated for the weekend.