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Wind siege ends for LA fire areas, cooler temperatures ahead

Marina Jurica’s 5 a.m. forecast | NEXT Weather
Marina Jurica’s 5 a.m. forecast | NEXT Weather 02:46

The National Weather Service said Thursday that the "nine-day wind siege has finally ended," offering relief to the fire-torn Los Angeles region. 

This comes after a "Particularly Dangerous Situation," red flag warning expired Wednesday evening. The I-5 corridor, the Santa Susana Mountains and portions of the Santa Clarita Valley remain under a red flag warning until 3 p.m. Thursday.  

Two days before the Eaton Fire and Palisades Fire broke out, NWS issued escalating warnings of widespread damaging winds and extreme fire weather conditions, with a red flag warning in effect. 

On Jan. 6, the day before the fires broke out, weather warnings escalated, leading to a regional PDS warning. 

Critical fire weather persisted as firefighters battled the two massive Southern California wildfires. 

The start of a cooling trend begins Thursday, marking the end of the latest PDS alert and a downgrade of red flag warning zones.  

The region will see a "significant cooling trend through the weekend," according to NWS.  Humidity levels will rise, alleviating the dry conditions that helped fuel the spread of wildfires over the past week. 

"By Thursday afternoon, a solid onshore flow will be arriving along the coast and working its way inland through the rest of the day, finally bringing this long offshore stretch to an end."   

For Friday and the weekend, much cooler temperatures are expected  

Forecasters warn that Santa Ana winds are likely to return early next week, later Monday into Tuesday. It is too early to judge how strong that event might be. 

CBS News Los Angeles meteorologist Marina Jurica warned that the fire risk remains until there is significant rainfall. 

The 2024-25 year has been the second driest water year to date, according to NWS records that date back to 1877. 

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