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The Meteorology of the January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires.

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Title: The Meteorology of the January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires.
Authors: Mass, Clifford1 (AUTHOR) cmass@uw.edu, Ovens, David (AUTHOR), Fovell, Robert G.2 (AUTHOR), Baars, Jeff (AUTHOR), Gilbert, Nathan (AUTHOR)
Source: Weather & Forecasting. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 4, p1-21. 21p.
Subjects: Wildfires, Windstorms, Wind forecasting, Synoptic meteorology, Meteorology, Mountain wave, Wildfire risk
Geographic Terms: Pacific Coast (U.S.), Los Angeles (Calif.), San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)
Abstract: This paper describes the synoptic and mesoscale meteorology associated with the strong Santa Ana event of January 7-12, 2025, which resulted in a catastrophic wildfire with over $150 billion in economic loss and 31 deaths. Strong northerly and northeasterly low-level winds, reaching record levels at some locations, resulted from an unusually intense mid-tropospheric low to the south of the Los Angeles basin. With higher pressure/heights over the northeast Pacific, strong crest-level flow developed over the Southern California Transverse Ranges, with intense downslope flow on the southern, lee slopes. High-resolution model simulations produced a highly realistic wind evolution over the region. The strongest winds, some exceeding 80 kt, occurred on the southwestern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains and were associated with high-amplitude mountain wave activity. The predictability of the event was high, with substantial skill within three days of the start of the strong, dry winds. The prior autumn and early winter months were the driest on record in the region, ensuring surface fuels would be dry and flammable. Furthermore, the two previous winter seasons were considerably wetter than normal, producing large fuel loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Weather & Forecasting is the property of American Meteorological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
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  Data: The Meteorology of the January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mass%2C+Clifford%22">Mass, Clifford</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> cmass@uw.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Ovens%2C+David%22">Ovens, David</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fovell%2C+Robert+G%2E%22">Fovell, Robert G.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Baars%2C+Jeff%22">Baars, Jeff</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gilbert%2C+Nathan%22">Gilbert, Nathan</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Weather+%26+Forecasting%22">Weather & Forecasting</searchLink>. Apr2026, Vol. 41 Issue 4, p1-21. 21p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wildfires%22">Wildfires</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Windstorms%22">Windstorms</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wind+forecasting%22">Wind forecasting</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Synoptic+meteorology%22">Synoptic meteorology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Meteorology%22">Meteorology</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mountain+wave%22">Mountain wave</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Wildfire+risk%22">Wildfire risk</searchLink>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Pacific+Coast+%28U%2ES%2E%29%22">Pacific Coast (U.S.)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Los+Angeles+%28Calif%2E%29%22">Los Angeles (Calif.)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22San+Gabriel+Mountains+%28Calif%2E%29%22">San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: This paper describes the synoptic and mesoscale meteorology associated with the strong Santa Ana event of January 7-12, 2025, which resulted in a catastrophic wildfire with over $150 billion in economic loss and 31 deaths. Strong northerly and northeasterly low-level winds, reaching record levels at some locations, resulted from an unusually intense mid-tropospheric low to the south of the Los Angeles basin. With higher pressure/heights over the northeast Pacific, strong crest-level flow developed over the Southern California Transverse Ranges, with intense downslope flow on the southern, lee slopes. High-resolution model simulations produced a highly realistic wind evolution over the region. The strongest winds, some exceeding 80 kt, occurred on the southwestern slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains and were associated with high-amplitude mountain wave activity. The predictability of the event was high, with substantial skill within three days of the start of the strong, dry winds. The prior autumn and early winter months were the driest on record in the region, ensuring surface fuels would be dry and flammable. Furthermore, the two previous winter seasons were considerably wetter than normal, producing large fuel loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Weather & Forecasting is the property of American Meteorological Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1175/WAF-D-25-0164.1
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 21
        StartPage: 1
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Wildfires
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Windstorms
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wind forecasting
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Synoptic meteorology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Meteorology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Mountain wave
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Wildfire risk
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Pacific Coast (U.S.)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Los Angeles (Calif.)
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: San Gabriel Mountains (Calif.)
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: The Meteorology of the January 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires.
        Type: main
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          Name:
            NameFull: Mass, Clifford
      – PersonEntity:
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            NameFull: Ovens, David
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            NameFull: Fovell, Robert G.
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            NameFull: Baars, Jeff
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            – D: 01
              M: 04
              Text: Apr2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
          Identifiers:
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              Value: 08828156
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              Value: 41
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              Value: 4
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