Wind forecasts in Santa Ana, Southern California, have worsened, and forecasters now expect to issue a fire weather red flag warning starting Monday, with "risk of fire spread" if a fire breaks out.

"This is a period of strong Santa Ana winds and extreme fire weather," with weather conditions expected to worsen compared to previous forecasts, said Ross Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Oxnard office.

A red flag warning - indicating severe fire weather conditions and any new ignition will cause the fire to spread quickly - is likely to be in place starting at 10 a.m. Monday in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Vento It comes into effect in large areas of Latvia and other counties. Lasts until 10pm Tuesday.

The Palisades and Eaton fires will occur in red flag warning areas, as well as in Santa Monica and the San Gabriel Valley. Areas outside the red flag alert zone include the Los Angeles basin, such as downtown Los Angeles, Torrance and Long Beach, as well as coastal San Diego and Orange counties.

Since this is more of a traditional Santa Ana wind event with winds blowing from the east to the northeast, Ventura County will be an area of ​​concern.

In the highest risk areas this week, sustained winds of 25 mph to 40 mph and gusts up to 65 mph are possible from the east and northeast through the traditional Santa Ana wind corridor that extends to the southwest ) of the coast and valleys, en route to the coast from Palmdale to Santa Clarita and Ventura.

In the mountains and foothills, sustained winds are possible between 30 mph and 45 mph, with gusts as high as 60 mph and 80 mph. Wind gusts around 65 mph could cause damage.

In Los Angeles County, areas of greatest concern include the western San Fernando Valley, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, the western San Gabriel Mountains and the Grapevine section of Interstate 5.

Winds are expected to be strongest Monday night into Tuesday morning.

"Now is the time to act again," Schoenfeld said, warning that people should prepare to evacuate and take steps including preparing medications, filling their cars with gas, checking evacuation routes and signing emergency notices from local authorities.

This also means securing loose outdoor items, such as patio furniture; adjusting travel times from Monday night to Tuesday morning; charging electronics, flashlights and battery packs; topping up emergency generators, Schoenfeld said, and moving cars Remove from trees that appear fragile.

Experts warn people not to place certain items within 5 feet of their homes, such as outdoor furniture, umbrellas, trash and recycling bins. It's also a good idea to remove any dead or live grass from the area, as well as clear flammable materials (such as leaves and needles) from gutters, roofs, decks, porches, and stairs.

"When the wind picks up, stay away from trees, away from windows. Again, use extreme caution around anything that could start a fire," Schoenfeld said.

The weather service said gusts could be so strong that they could knock over big rigs and RVs and trigger power outages that could last days.

At this time, forecasters are not saying there is a high likelihood they will issue an enhanced red flag warning for "particularly hazardous conditions," which would indicate an extreme red flag warning. Currently, this Santa Ana wind event does not appear to be as extreme as the Jan. 7-8 event, when strong winds were expected across a wider area, including across the Los Angeles Basin.

"This event has different areas of focus. More focus on Ventura County," Schoenfeld said, and in Los Angeles County, more focus on the western part of the county and its highest elevations.

Still, the risk of severe fires is expected to be high as Santa Ana winds sweep across much of the region, coupled with unusually dry air and vegetation parched from eight months of almost no rain.

The weather service said conditions are expected to be very dry throughout the week, with the driest conditions being Tuesday. Relative humidity could drop to 5% in the western San Fernando Valley, Santa Clarita, Oxnard, Thousand Oaks and Fillmore.

Schoenfeld said fire weather concerns will continue throughout the week, with more Santa Ana winds possible Thursday. The weather service may end the red flag warning on Tuesday or extend it into Thursday.

Santa Ana winds are strong winds that form when high pressure over Nevada and Utah pushes cold air toward low pressure areas along the California coast. Santa Ana wind season usually runs from October to March.

The air dries, compresses, and warms as it reaches the mountains around Southern California, then slopes down from the high desert (from the northeast) over California's mountains and canyons, drying out vegetation as the wind blows.

Looking ahead, rain is expected for a week or so. But, for now, it doesn't appear to be the kind of soak needed to end fire season, Schoenfeld said.

There's about a 20 to 30 percent chance of rain, especially between Jan. 25 and 27, and a 10 percent chance of thunderstorms, Schoenfeld said.

"This doesn't look like a really thoroughly wet rainfall for much of the region," Schoenfeld said. "That's really bad news for our future fire weather season."

There's also no clear sign of a mild atmospheric river flowing toward Los Angeles, but the slight possibility of thunderstorms does raise concerns about possible landslides and mudslides in recently burned areas.

So far this winter, Southern California has been experiencing an unusually consistent rainless spell, coupled with the periodic return of Santa Ana winds. The region is in the midst of one of the driest winters on record, if not the driest.

Since the start of the water year on October 1, downtown Los Angeles has received just 0.16 inches of rain. That's just 3 percent of the average for this point in the water year, with the downtown average being 5.89 inches. The average annual precipitation in downtown Los Angeles is 14.25 inches.

It is highly unusual for winter rains to start so late, putting Southern California at high risk for fire weather. January is the month when Santa Ana winds are most common and can be the strongest of the season.

Alex Tardy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's San Diego office, said the jet stream's path has recently been away from California, heading from the Pacific to northern British Columbia and Alaska, denying California storms.

This is a similar weather pattern to January 2022, when there was little snow in the Sierra Nevada.

"It's a whole neighborhood. So everything misses California," Tardy said of the winter storm. "Looks like we can't catch a break."

Tardy said cold air over Canada dominated the weather pattern, exacerbating the situation and putting California on the dry, windy side of the jet stream rather than the side that provides precipitation. This creates a structure that builds high pressure over Nevada and Utah, pushing winds toward Southern California in search of low pressure along the coast.

Times staff writer Melody Gutierrez contributed to this report.