High Wind — Ventura County Interior Valleys, California

2007-10-21 · Ventura County Interior Valleys, California

Event narrative

The Wiley Ridge RAWS sensor reported northeast winds gusting to 58 mph.

Wider weather episode

Between October 20th and 24th, strong surface high pressure developed over the Great Basin and produced a strong and long-lasting Santa Ana wind event across Southern California. This particular Santa Ana wind event was the strongest and most widespread in recent memory with peak wind gusts over 100 mph reported at Laguna Peak and Whitaker Peak. The offshore winds produced very warm and dry conditions across Southern California which led to 9 different wildfires across Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Four of the wildfires exceeded 700 acres with one fire burning nearly 60,000 acres.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 60684. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.