Hot, dry devilish winds ready to blow

By Emily Nash, On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, October 22, 1998

That time of year when dry winds run across supple flesh like a cruel witch's brew robs a young woman of her youth is upon us once again.

It is the time of dry-bloody noses when the air seems to have a soul, as it mimics broken emotions with its howling and its thrashing.

The time is October, and from now until February, the Santa Ana winds, or Santa Anas as they are popularly known, will scavenge their way through town as they stir up dust and dry out eyes.

Author Raymond Chandler, who set the style for detective fiction in America, makes several references to the Santa Ana winds in his novels.

There was a desert wind blowing that night. - "Red Wind"

The Santa Anas, which do not originate anywhere near Santa Ana, are caused by warm air rising from the valley floors of the Utah-Nevada mountain ranges, said Gary Peters, professor of geography at Cal State Long Beach.

As the air rises it cools and creates an upward downward wind flow and eventually spills over the mountain ranges, Peters said.

Peters said he believes the Santa Anas can affect a person's behavior because people do not like dry wind. However, the saying that dry wind causes significantly more crime is a rumor.

"I have never seen an academic study on it," Peters said.

Peters was not sure about the origin of the name Santa Anas, but he speculated that it came from the word Satan or that the winds were once called "Devil Winds."

It was one of those hot dry Santa Anas that come down through the mountain passes and curl your hair and make your nerves jump and your skin itch - "Red Wind"

Officer Mike Partain of the Los Angeles Police Department said the LAPD could not correlate statistics relating to homicide rates and the Santa Ana winds.

"We break statistics down by sex and age," Partain said. "It would be impossible to give that information."

However, a November 1995 issue of the Tucson Weekly stated the "The LAPD demonstrated that homicide rates double during the Santa Ana wind days."

The LAPD could not confirm who in the department gave the Tucson Weekly that information.

On nights like that ... meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. - "Red Wind"

Ravaging forest and brush fire, wind damage to property, low altitude aircraft turbulence and high wind dangers to boaters are all associated with the Santa Anas, according to the National Weather Service.