Diablo Winds

I love this article from the the Park Stewardship Newsletter, I thought I'd post it instead of reinventing it:

Wind

This last week we experienced some very unusual winds! Blowing south-southeast these winds brought along unseasonably warm temperatures and made our freshly planted natives at the Golden Gate Overlook quite thirsty.

Image credit NASA/GSFC/LaRC/JPL,MISR Team

Strong, hot winds called Santa Ana winds often occur in Southern California in the late fall and early winter. These winds are famous for bringing about violence and destruction, either by fanning wildfires or triggering erratic behavior. Associated with dry, hot heat, Santa Ana winds bring an influx of positive ions, which can affect people’s moods negatively. The negative effects of these winds have led cultures around the world to develop stories describing east winds' evil origins.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, we have our own version of the Santa Ana winds in the spring and fall, called the Diablo winds. The main difference between the two winds is their origin; the Santa Ana winds form in high desert and then are channeled down valleys and canyons, while the Diablo winds are formed by a collision of high and low pressure systems from the Great Basin and the coast. 

Regardless of their source, winds such as these are important ecological forces. They guide erosion, promote seed and insect dispersal, and drastically affect humidity levels and temperature. Many plants, such as the coyote bush rely entirely on these wind to spread their fluffy seeds for successful reproduction.