LOS ANGELES, CA – As firefighters struggle to gain control of massive and deadly wildfires that are raging across parts of the Los Angeles area, the region is once again bracing for the potential of new fires and for current ones to intensify as a new storm system heads for the state.
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The National Weather Service has issued a PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Red Flag Warning for the region starting on Tuesday.
KPRC 2 Meteorologist Caroline Brown says this is as high end as it gets for fire weather warnings.
“A PDS Red Flag Warning is as bad as it gets when it comes to fire alerts. It’s extremely rare for a PDS Red Flag Warning to be issued. If this was a severe weather event, this warning is the equivalent to the SPC issuing a high risk,” Brown said.
So what is a PDS warning and what does it mean?
PDS definition
A PDS (Particularly Dangerous Situation) Red Flag Warning is also known as an Extreme Red Flag Warning, according to the United State Forest Service.
PDS watches and warnings were originally used for severe weather events, namely the potential for violent outbreaks of tornadoes and are extremely rare in nature.
In 2019, the National Weather Service began using PDS wording for certain Red Flag Warnings. They are issued when conditions for fire growth and behavior are extremely dangerous due to a combination of strong winds, very low humidity, long duration, and very dry fuels.
Despite the rarity of such warnings, the last time Southern California had a PDS Red Flag Warning was on December 9, 2024, when Los Angeles and Ventura counties were told of a “particularly dangerous situation” as Santa Ana winds roared through the mountains in the area, according to the Associated Press.
What is Southern California expecting?
Although the National Weather Service says this week’s windstorm is not expected to be as strong and destructive as the windstorm last week, damaging winds of between 55-70 mph are expected across portions of the warning zone from early Tuesday morning into Wednesday morning.
During this time frame, there will be a high risk for large fires with a very rapid fire spread.