SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — As the latest round of Santa Ana winds hits the region and more Red Flag Warnings were put in place for thousands of residents, most of San Diego County and Southern California have slipped back into drought conditions.
The start to 2025 has been historic for Southern California, with wildfires causing widespread devastation throughout Los Angeles and no measurable rainfall in recent months causing the driest start to the water year in San Diego’s recorded weather history.
Red Flag Warning issued for San Diego County amid more Santa Ana winds; thousands could have power shut off
To cap it all off, San Diego County is now under severe drought conditions.
U.S. Drought Monitor data shows most of San Diego County was experiencing severe drought conditions the week of Jan. 9, 2025. This is compared to the week of Dec. 31, 2024, when Southern California was under moderate drought conditions.
24 dead as fire crews try to corral Los Angeles blazes before winds return this week
Flash back to October 2024 and before when the region was not experiencing any drought conditions, as you can see in the maps provided by U.S. Drought Monitor below:
In addition to the drought conditions, a new round of Santa Anas are forecast to cause gusty winds and critical fire weather conditions through Wednesday…