A rare Particularly Dangerous Situation warning has been issued for Southern California as a powerful and potentially damaging Santa Ana wind event​ is expected.

Santa Anas are the desiccating winds that are common in winter, blowing out of Nevada and Utah and into southwestern California. Carrying dry desert air, they push over the mountains in the Transverse Ranges and accelerate as they move downslope, howling into the canyons and valleys.

Windy and dry conditions returned to Southern California on Monday, raising the risk of new wildfires sparking as firefighters continue to battle two major blazes in the Los Angeles area that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago.