Santa Ana winds

High school (ages 12+)
Environment & Earth

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/santa-ana-winds

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How heavy is Santa Ana winds?Cool, dry, dense air from the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains
2. What is the meteorological classification?Strong, dry, downslope katabatic winds driven by continental high-pressure systems
3. What is the primary mechanism of warming?Adiabatic compression as air descends from higher elevations to coastal areas
4. What are Santa Ana winds and why do they feel hot?They are strong, dry winds that come from high-pressure areas over the Great Basin and Rocky Mountains. As they travel down from the mountains, they warm up and become very hot and dry, like a giant hot hairdryer.
5. How do Santa Ana winds start in the desert and move to the coast?Cold, dry air builds up over the high‑pressure center. When the pressure gets higher, the air rushes toward lower pressure along the coast, moving downhill and warming as it goes.

Katabatic winds: Winds that flow downslope under the influence of gravity, typically originating from elevated, cooler regions.
Adiabatic warming: The temperature change of a parcel of air as it rises or descends through the atmosphere, due to changes in pressure, without heat exchange with its surroundings.
High-pressure system: A region of the atmosphere where the pressure is higher than its surroundings, often associated with stable, clear, and dry weather conditions.
Wildland-urban interface (WUI): The zone where human development meets or is adjacent to undeveloped wildland vegetation, increasing wildfire risk.