Fire Weather Warning, So Cal, Critical Fire Weather Alert

FRIDAY GRADIENTS WILL BE TURNING OFFSHORE WITH SIGNIFICANT WARMING AND DRYING EXPECTED. ALTHOUGH SOME OFFSHORE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS FRIDAY, STRONGER OFFSHORE FLOW IS EXPECTED BY SATURDAY AND ESPECIALLY SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN A LENGTHY PERIOD OF VERY DRY CONDITIONS WITH HUMIDITIES DROPPING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS. ALTHOUGH THE STRONGEST OFFSHORE WINDS ARE NOT EXPECTED UNTIL SUNDAY, IT`S POSSIBLE THAT RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP SOONER THAN THAT, PERHAPS AS EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. ALTHOUGH THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF TIME FOR THE SITUATION TO CHANGE, THIS APPEARS TO BE OUR FIRST SANTA ANA WIND EVENT OF THE SEASON AND FIRE AGENCIES SHOULD PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THE FORECASTS OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND START PREPARATIONS FOR A LENGTHY PERIOD OF HOT, DRY, AND OCCASIONALLY WINDY CONDITIONS.