The latest indications are that a moderate Santa Ana event will affect Southern California during the middle of next week.

According to Senior Meteorologist Dave Samuel, “While it is a bit early to give specifics on how strong winds will actually be, it appears this event will fall into the moderate range in terms of severity for the region.”

Next week, the combination of high pressure forecast to build over the Great Basin with an upper-level disturbance passing by should be enough to get northeasterly winds cranking.

The event should be strong enough to rout out coastal low clouds, greatly warm things up, and raise the wildfire danger in the region from central and northern California southward to southern Arizona and New Mexico.

Winds could become strong enough to be of concern for high-profile vehicles over the passes, through the canyons and in open areas.

Blowing dust could reduce visibility in some locations as well.

People are urged to be careful with campfires, cigarettes and outdoor equipment in advance of the forecast winds. Flames of existing fires could greatly be fanned by the winds next week.

The same setup could help generate a “Colorado Classic” snowstorm and may even work to deliver some rain to parts of Texas next week.